It's been a rough ride for Paul Feig's Ghostbusters reboot. The reimagining of the 1984 classic releases tomorrow in the U.S., and despite the slew of negativity that has been paraded online, it has managed to receive a significant amount of positive reviews. However, Sony Pictures is about to be dealt a heavy financial blow, as it's been revealed that China will not be showing the film, having deemed it "unattractive" for audiences.
"It's been confirmed that Ghostbusters won't be coming to China, because they think it's not really that attractive to Chinese audiences," a Chinese executive told The Hollywood Reporter. "Most of the Chinese audience didn't see the first and second movies, so they don't think there's much market for it here."
The decision to not release the movie doesn't come as an entirely surprising one, as China's official censorship guidelines technically prohibit movies that "promote cults or superstition" (though the executive denied censorship as the reason). Back in spring, when the China release was still uncertain, the Chinese character for "ghost" was removed from the film's title; The original film was titled "捉鬼敢死队," which translates as Ghost Catcher Dare Die Team. The reboot, however, has been reworked as "超能敢死队," meaning Super Power Dare Die Team. Presumably, Sony made the change in order to persuade China to release Ghostbusters, with no success.
Without revenue from China (which is the No. 2 film market in the world), Ghostbusters could have a difficult time succeeding at the international box office. Will you be seeing Ghostbusters this weekend? Sound off below!
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