HONG KONG: The screening of “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” (pic), a British slasher film due to be released in Hong Kong this week, has been cancelled after cinemas in the city declined to show it, its distributor said on Tuesday.
VII Pillars Entertainment said it didn’t know the reason for the cancellation; the movie had been scheduled to open March 23 in 32 cinemas in the city.
“We are pulling our hair of course, very disappointed. It’s just unbelievable that cinemas cancel the exhibition after all arrangements were made,” said VII Pillars spokesperson Ray Fong.
Chinese censors have previously targeted the film’s main character, created by English author A.A. Milne, over memes that compare the bumbling bear to President Xi Jinping. The comparisons began in 2013 when Xi visited the United States and met his then-counterpart Barack Obama, and some online commentators seized on their likeness to Pooh and Tigger.
Some people have used the image of Pooh to signal dissent.
The Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA) told Reuters that it had issued a certificate of approval to the applicant.
VII Pillars said the film was done with a tiny budget and “sold to nearly 200 territories in just six months. — Reuters
