The screening of low-budget slasher film, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, in Hong Kong is cancelled. Its distributor announced this week, without giving a reason for the cancellation.
Just two days before the movie’s debut in Asian theatres, it was pulled from over 30 cinemas.
READ MORE: 7 famous celebs you may have forgotten are Irish
There is speculation that censorship pressures from China over a crackdown on Winne the Pooh himself, is to blame for the cancellation. Many question if the movie crossed one of Hong Kong’s complicated political rules.
And this is because Winnie the Pooh is perceived to have a stark physical resemblance to China’s president, Xi Jinping.
Something suspicious this way comes
VII Pillars Entertainment says it was with ‘great regret’ the the scheduled release was cancelled. It added no further details. Ray Fong, General Manager of VII Pillars, told Screen:
We can confirm that the film cannot be exhibited in cinemas in both Hong Kong and Macau on March 23
Rhys Frake-Waterfield, UK filmmaker and the director of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey. The film comes nearly a century after the copyright on A. A. Milne’s 1926 book ‘Winnie-The-Pooh’ expired in 2022.
This left the story open to interpretation.
READ MORE: Ke Huy Quan, Brendan Fraser make Oscars history
Frake-Waterfield told Reuters that “something mysterious” happened:
They claim technical reasons, but there is no technical reason,” he said. “The film has showed in over 4,000 cinema screens worldwide. These 30+ screens in Hong Kong are the only ones with such issues
Frake-Waterfield addressed the cancellation with Variety, expressing his confusion:
Hong Kong as of Friday had 30+ cinemas booked to show ‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.’ They even did one screening. It went passed censorship. Then ‘suddenly’ over last few days, something has happened which has resulted in multiple cinema chains simultaneously having to remove the showings from their cinemas, which is nothing to do with the film’s quality.
The movie was reportedly made for less than $100,000 by Jagged Edge Productions. It is nothing sunshine and rainbows like the original works. Instead it follows Pooh and Piglet as they embark on a murderous rampage when Christopher Robin goes off to college.
But the movie has already delivered a successful return at the box office, despite the disappearance of an Asian market release. It took more than $4.1 million at the worldwide box office to date!
This includes $1.75 million in the US and $1 million in Mexico.
Hong Kong censor, The Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration (OFNAA) told Reuters:
The arrangements of cinemas in Hong Kong on the screening of individual films with certificates of approval in their premises are the commercial decisions of the cinemas concerned, and OFNAA would not comment on such arrangements
In the end, the slasher film has proved to be a huge commercial success. It has already started the development of a sequel, and other films aimed at destroying childhood-classics.
READ MORE: The best foods for each stage of your dog’s life
