Hollywood quakes as China pulls Da Vinci Code

By Scott Rosenberg Jun 9, 2006, 7:20 GMT

While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. While working to solve the enigmatic riddle, Langdon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci -- clues visible for all to ...more

The Government of China has withdrawn ‘The DaVinci Code’ from movie theaters.

This is the first time that the Chinese Government has pulled a foreign film from the market after it was approved and Hollywood executives are concerned.

With a population of + 1.3 billion, the Chinese movie market is huge and studio executives have been making small strides forward to penetrate the market. Thus, the swift removal of the film without explanation is a concern.

Chinese sources maintain that the China Film Group, in charge of distribution of foreign films, sent a letter to exhibitors asking them to pull the controversial film “in order to protect the market for locally made films” by giving them greater screen time.

Jeff Blake, who runs Sony's worldwide marketing and distribution division, said on CNN Thursday, he received word late Wednesday from distributor China Films about the government's decision.

"We're obviously disappointed by this decision ... We were not informed as to why the film was pulled," Blake added.

"We're really pleased that we had the opportunity to exhibit 'The Da Vinci Code' for wide release in China and that it enjoyed three weeks of tremendous success."

Nearly four weeks ago, China hosted the film's preem some four hours ahead of its red carpet gala in Cannes. It went on to open on 393 screens country wide in China.

‘Da Vinci Code’ was within a day of becoming the 2nd biggest foreign box-office grosser taking in about $13 million. ‘Pearl Harbor’ stands in the number two place with $13.1 million while ‘Titanic’ holds the record at $37.5 million.

Distributors were surprised when the State Administration for Radio Film & Television (SARFT) quickly approved the Christian themed film which was causing protests from Catholic groups across the globe.

Religious themes are generally played down or suppressed in Communist China especially those that are controversial. But if this was the case, SARFT would not have approved the film in the first place.

Twentieth Century Fox opens ‘Ice Age: The Meltdown’ today (Friday) and ‘Poseidon’ is still playing across China. These are the last two foreign films that will play before the annual summer black-out on foreign releases.