China frowns on 'The Da Vinci Code'
Government pulls Sony thriller from movie screens after three weeks; no official reason given.

NEW YORK (CNN) - The government of China has decided to put a halt to the runaway success of "The Da Vinci Code," pulling the high-grossing thriller from all of the country's movie theaters, according to the film's distributor, Sony Pictures.

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

Audrey Tautou, left, and Tom Hanks in
Audrey Tautou, left, and Tom Hanks in "The Da Vinci Code."

The controversial picture, based on the best selling novel by Dan Brown, deals with sensitive issues about the story of Jesus and the Catholic Church and has raised the ire of Christian groups worldwide.

"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," Blake told CNN.

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

Maoming Chu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said that he was not aware that the film had been banned in his country and had no comment from his government.

Though its run was stunted, "The Da Vinci Code" enjoyed a remarkable run in China, grossing over $13 million. According to Blake, it was one of the top four grossing Hollywood films ever to be released in China. "Titanic" is the number one all time grossing Hollywood film ever to be featured in the country.

China allows on average, fewer than 20 foreign films to be released in the country each year. Sony Pictures said "The Da Vinci Code" release was the largest ever in the country and was highly uncommon in that Chinese authorities allowed the film to debut in such wide release on May 19, the same date the film debuted worldwide.

Richard Malish, an associate in Allen & Overy LLP's China Group who has advised clients on media investments in China, said he believes that Beijing's concern is two-fold.

"The Chinese historically have been concerned with those sensitive foreign influences that fall under the banner of 'cultural pollution,'" Malish said. "This concern has on occasion extended to foreign religious practice. There has also been a recent tightening of controls on foreign media and domestic investment by foreign companies, which is driven largely by political concerns."

He added, "'The Da Vinci Code' is not the first movie I would expect to pass the censors, and I think the real story is that the movie made it to the screens at all."

Blake said that he doesn't expect Chinese authorities to give a reason for their decision.

"We'll wait and see what happens, but we don't expect the opportunity to appeal to the government of China," Blake said. "We've accepted the decision with disappointment."

-- From CNN Business Assignment Editor Jonathan Schienberg

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.