Is China pulling Avatar from theaters because it’s too popular? Moviegoers in the Asian nation who haven’t already seen James Cameron’s Golden Globe-winning sci-fi epic will find it more difficult to see the film, according to The Los Angeles Times.
The box office smash is already the highest-grossing movie of all time in the communist nation, earning $76 million, but the government has decided to remove Avatar from 1,628 2D screens this week. China’s state-run movie distributor China Film Group is replacing the box office hit with a biography about Confucius starring Chow-Yun Fat, according to The Times.
Chinese fans will still be able to view Avatar on almost 900 3D screens.
Meanwhile, a 42-year-old Taiwanese man with a history of high blood pressure died while watching the blockbuster in a Chinese theater last week. Doctors believe his fatally stroke was likely triggered by “over-excitement” from seeing the movie.