The gala premiere of Jiang Wen's 3D gangster movie "Gone with the Bullets" has finally pushed through Monday at a specially built IMAX screen at the Olympic Stadium in Beijing.
The event, which was originally set for Dec. 8, was abruptly delayed due to censorship issues.
Buyilehu Films, the movie's production company, said that the film will be ready for its wide opening in about 10 days and should be set for its launch date on Dec. 18.
"Gone with the Bullets" is the second movie in the "Bullets" trilogy, after the action-comedy "Let the Bullets Fly" in 2010. Jiang's first film was a success with more than $140 million in global box-office revenue, including the $118 million in China, according to Sinosphere, The New York Times's China blog.
The much anticipated movie, co-produced by Columbia Pictures, will be distributed in China by Buyilehu, which is partly owned by Jiang and internationally by Sony Pictures. According to the Hollywood Reporter, ticket sales for the movie's IMAX premiere on Dec. 18 have reached more than $19.5 million.
Sinosphere reported that the elements of the film questioned by the Chinese censorship authorities remain unclear. However, domestic and foreign movies in China are typically subject to censorship screening by the authorities before they can be released. In many cases, a film will only receive an approval from China's state censor after changes have been made.
Censorship is no longer new to Jiang, who was previously viewed as the bad boy of Chinese cinema. The actor and director was once banned for seven years from making films after bringing his movie "Devils on the Doorstep" to the Cannes Film Festival in 2000 without the approval of authorities.