A puppy meat scene in Chinese blockbuster Monster Hunt is getting cut for American audiences.
According to reports, the No. 1 Chinese box-hit movie of all time, debuts in America on Friday but, the movie won’t include a scene in which puppies are offered for sale in a meat market scene.
Monster Hunt is a sci-fi fantasy movie directed by Raman Hui. It is sent in an ancient world when humans and monsters lived in separate worlds.
When a child is born to a human father and a monster mother she is hunted by both species starting a civil war. The story is based on “Shan Hai Jing” (Classic of Mountains and Seas), a story that has never really reached with American audiences.
According to TheWrap, getting North American moviegoers to get past cultural differences is just one of the problems faced by Chinese made movies premiering in the United States and this weekend’s debut of Monster Hunt makes it very clear.
From TheWrap:
Beijing’s movies play mainly to a niche Chinese-American audience in North America. “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” which grossed $128 million in the U.S., has been the only real box-office breakout of a movie from that country — and that was 15 years ago. Sony gave “Wolf Totem,” a well-reviewed film that was a hit in China, a short run in September and it made just $210,591.
But, the second largest box office in the world is attempting to boost their film industry. In fact, in 2015, seven of the top 10 box office earners in China were made in China including Monster Hunt which earned $385 million.
Even though Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened at No. 1 to $52 million in China on January 9th and it was knocked out of the top spot only a week later by a Chinese animated movie Boonie Bears 3, despite a major marketing strategy by Disney.
“There’s no question that American movies are the gold standard when it comes to major, blockbuster-type releases that are filled with action and effects,” Elliot Tong, who heads the Beijing office of Arclight Films, told TheWrap. “Where the Chinese have excelled, and what is driving much of the current growth for their industry, are comedies and family films that center on aspects of Chinese culture and lore.”
