Quentin Tarantino's controversial Oscar-winning hit Django Unchained has been withdrawn from Chinse theatres. Following midnight screenings, the film was pulled without explanation, creating major potential problems for studio Sony, which has come to rely on Chinese ticket sales to fund its increasingly expensive productions.
The film, which cost an estimated $100M to make, had already run into trouble with the Chinese censor and it is believed that Tarantino himself agreed to make changes to allow it to be shown. The censor has yet to comment on the film's withdrawal. In 2009, Avatar was withdrawn from Chinese cinemas in similary mysterious circumstances amid rumours that the government considered it too succssful, while films like Brokeback Mountain have been banned due to cultural sensitivities. Censors were reporedly unhappy about the level of gore in Django Unchained though they had officially accepted the cut version. They frequently insist on the removal of sexual content and references to the supernatural.
