Jackie Chan Movie Won't Be Shown In China
Jackie Chan's new action comedy, "Rush Hour 3," won't be shown in China.
"We think the market for the movie is relatively weak," Xiao Ping, a vice president at state-run China Film Group's import and export arm, said Tuesday.
The Chinese government carefully screens foreign media content and allows only about 20 foreign films a year to be shown.
Ping said "Rush Hour 3" was up against some tough competition.
China has already imported several Hollywood blockbusters, including "Transformers," "Spider-Man 3" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."
But Hollywood trade publication Variety reported on its Asian Web site Tuesday that Chinese officials believe "Rush Hour 3," which stars Chan and Chris Tucker as buddy cops taking on a Chinese crime family in Paris, is "fundamentally anti-Chinese."
Xiao said she didn't know whether film executives were concerned about scenes of Chinese gangsters.
Photos: "Rush Hour 3" Premiere
New Line Cinema said it had no comment.
Chan, 53, and Tucker, 34, have co-starred in all three "Rush Hour" movies. The trilogy, directed by Brett Ratner, began in 1998.
The loss of the China market isn't a major blow to filmmakers. Chinese box-office income remains much smaller than in the U.S. A movie that makes tens of millions of U.S. dollars in China can be considered a hit, while U.S. box-office winners can make hundreds of millions.
"Rush Hour 3" is set for release in the U.S. on Aug. 10.
By Min Lee