Suicide Squad is a comic based film directed by David Ayer and it stars Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Viola Davis and Cara Delevingne. (Photo : Facebook/Suicide Squad)
It looks likely that the latest DC blockbuster "Suicide Squad" will get a snub in China. However, the movie which was released over this weekend is expected to break records in the United States.
The film's studio Warner Bros. has not received a release date in China, and sources close to the decision-makers in Beijing revealed that the clouds of uncertainty hover over David Ayer's comic book adaptation, as it is yet to get the official nod for release in the world's second-largest film market."They think this is not a good film to release in China," a Chinese source told The Hollywood Reporter.
This will be a major loss to the film's studio. A source well aware in the matter said that the ban is due to China's censorship on films with a negative outlook on life, Business Insider reported. The supernatural aspect of the movie doesn't help the movie's cause either, as going by the standards maintained by the China Film Co. -- the government-run body which is responsible for releasing foreign films in the country.
The release calendar set by China Film Co. runs two months in advance mostly. Since Warner Bros. Are yet to receive any sort of notification for the state-owned body regarding the film's Chinese release date the film, it appears that the movie has not been cleared for release.
This comes after, "Suicide Squad" was retitled "Task Force X" for its release in China.The movie, however, contains a lot of gun violence coupled with bad language that in all probability China Film Co. Would find inappropriate for Chinese audiences.
China being a colossal market, was a haven for some of the movies released this year in summer. The country adds significant earnings to the global box office for Hollywood movies."Warcraft,"earned $220.8 million in China alone, as opposed to mere $47.2 million in the U.S. "Zootopia," with a whopping $235.5 million and remains the highest-earning film in China so far this year.
Recently released "Ghostbusters" too was banned in China due to its theme's inclination towards supernatural. The movie ended up making $110 million in the U.S. and mere $51.7 million internationally.
