Marvel is probably one of the biggest studios in the entertainment industry on this planet. They churn out films and shows with lightning-fast speed. Their flagship Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has delivered some of the highest-grossing films of all time like ‘Avengers: Endgame.’
However, some of their titles were banned in China. Recently, they lifted the unofficial ban from ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘ and ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.’ This means that these two tentpoles will be released in the country soon. But why were they banned in the first place?
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China Lifts Ban From Two Marvel Movies
China is a country where there is absolutely no freedom of expression. They ban anything that they don’t like. Even Winnie the Pooh, because he resembles their leader XI Jinping in a funny way.
According to Variety, the country had also banned several Marvel titles. However, they have lifted the unofficial ban from ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘ and ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania‘. This means that the two tentpoles can now release in their theatres.
‘Wakanda Forever‘ will release on February 7 and ‘Quantumania‘ will be released theatrically on February 17. The release dates were announced via Marvel’s social media handles. Since 2019’s ‘Avengers: Endgame‘ and ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home‘, these two will be the first Marvel films to hit Chinese theatres.
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Why Were They Banned In China?
In the past (including the last two releases) Marvel movies have been extremely popular in China, earning millions of dollars. ‘Endgame‘ made a whopping $632 million in that country.
It is still unclear why China banned these films. One of the reasons has to do with the increasing tension between them and the US. China had issues with scenes from several Marvel titles ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ and insisted on removing them from the film. A request that was rejected by the studio.
James Cameron’s ‘Avatar: The Way of Water‘ managed to get release permission from the Chinese Film Bureau and has done good business in that territory.
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