Movie buffs complain that the US blockbuster will be pulled from most movie theatres. Chinese authorities deny any discrimination. In two days, a nationalist movie about Confucius will hit the screens across the country. In Taiwan, man dies of a stroke from the overexcitement caused by Avatar.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Avatar is breaking records at the box-office in China, with 33 million yuan (US$ 4.5 million) in ticket sales on the first day of screening, this despite the fact that the movie has not been well advertised and is not shown in many theatres. Movies buffs are concerned that it might even be the target of a boycott.

James Cameron’s movie has had unprecedented success in China and experts are already wondering whether it will break the old box-office record. Many moviegoers have grumbled that it is being screened in 2D rather than 3D, a very different cinematic experience. Some new reports indicated today that it might be pulled soon, despite its success.

Zhang Hongsen, deputy director of the China Film Bureau, in charge of the movie’s distribution, said that, unlike the 2D version, tickets for the 3D version of the film were selling like hot cakes. Hence, it would be normal that the 2D version be pulled.  However, China has only around 700 3D screens—just 15 per cent of the nationwide total of 4,600 screens.

Comments about the movie itself vary. On some popular Chinese blogs, some postings suggest that Avatar might not be to the authorities’ liking because it might encourage ordinary folks to revolt against forced land and property seizure by the government (like those confiscated for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which led to razing of entire neighbourhoods). For those who lost everything under a bulldozer, the resistance by the alien Na’vi people against the human invaders might give an idea or two.

Others are wondering whether a China-made patriotic film titled Confucius scheduled to open  this Friday might have led the authorities to pull the plug on a foreign science fiction blockbuster to avoid the embarrassment of seeing it outshine a Chinese film, a claim that officials at the China Film Bureau dismiss out of hand.

State news agency Xinhua announced that Confucius would be shown on thousands of screens.

In Taiwan, a 42-year-old Taiwanese man with a history of high blood pressure died of a stroke after watching a 3D screening of Avatar.

The man started feeling unwell and was taken to hospital in the northern city of Hsinchu. A scan revealed that he had suffered a brain haemorrhage; he died 11 days later.

“It's likely that the over-excitement from watching the movie triggered his symptoms,” a doctor said.

Film blogging sites have reported complaints of headaches, dizziness, nausea and blurry eyesight from viewers who saw the movie ion 3D.

• china
• taiwan
• movie
• film
• avatar
• confucius
• blockbuster
• ticket
• sales
• death
• nationalism