China on Wednesday denied ordering a reduction in screenings of the Hollywood blockbuster Avatar after claims that the government planned to end showings of one version of the film for commercial or even political reasons, DPA reported.
The end of screenings for the two-dimensional version of Avatar from this weekend was a "normal" response to the market, the semi-official China News Service quoted a top film industry official as saying.
Cinemas in Beijing and other cities said they would stop showing the ordinary version, but not three-dimensional versions of Avatar, from Saturday.
Most tickets for the 3-D and IMAX 3-D versions had sold out but there were "many empty seats" at cinemas showing the ordinary version, Zhang Hongsen, deputy head of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, was quoted as saying.
"So it is normal that the 2-D version will come off the screens, but the 3-D and IMAX versions of Avatar will not move," Zhang said.
His agency is responsible for censoring and approving all films, television and radio broadcasting in China.
Avatar took about 300 million yuan (40 million dollars) at the box office in the first eight days after its January 4 release in China, the official China Daily quoted the China Film Group as saying.
The Hong Kong-based Apple Daily said that by limiting Avatar's screenings, culture officials wanted to ensure the success of a big-budget, state-approved film of the life of social philosopher Confucius scheduled for release nationwide Friday.
Some commentators in China also found a political resonance in the film's story of the Na'vis' battle to protect their land and culture from outsiders, comparing them to Chinese citizens fighting to protect their property from the government and developers.
China has 1,700 cinemas with more than 4,000 screens, but only about 500 can show 3-D films.
Many viewers had queued for tickets costing up to 150 yuan for the IMAX 3-D version of Avatar in Beijing this month.
All tickets were sold for three screenings of the 3-D version Tuesday night at the Megabox multiplex cinema in Beijing's Sanlitun area.
China allows imports of 20 foreign films annually for showing in cinemas.
Pirated DVDs of Avatar were on sale for about 7 yuan in Beijing's streets and markets even before the film's official release in China.