'Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey' pulled from Hong Kong theaters amid Chinese censorship claims
HONG KONG: 'Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey' has been pulled from movie theaters in Hong Kong, according to recent reports. The independent slasher movie had received an extremely polarized response worldwide upon release, but the shock value of a gory film with a beloved character helped it gain considerable interest.
'Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey' is written by Rhys Frake-Waterfield and A A Milne and directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield. The horror movie stars Nikolai Leon as Christopher Robin, Maria Taylor as Maria, Craig David Dowsett as Winnie-the-Pooh, Chris Cordell as Piglet, Natasha Rose Mills as Jessica, Amber Doig-Thorne as Alice, Danielle Ronald as Zoe, Natasha Tosini as Lara, Paula Coiz as Mary, May Kelly as Tina and Danielle Scott as Charlene.
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Claims of political pressure from China
'Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey' has been pulled from cinemas in Hong Kong, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The apparent censorship and subsequent cancellation have been linked to the character of Pooh resembling Chinese President Xi Jinping. It has been said that Moviematic had planned a pre-release screening for the movie this Tuesday that was canceled due to "technical issues."
According to THR, the movie had already passed through Hong Kong's censors before last week's screenings took place. It was previously scheduled to release in over 30 theaters this Thursday in Hong Kong. The horror film has also been reportedly removed from Macau as well.
This is not the first time China has rejected Winnie, the Pooh. The 2018 release of Disney’s live-action and CGI movie 'Christopher Robin' was not approved by the authorities in China. The ban was speculated to have been for political reasons.
'Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey'
The official synopsis of 'Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey' reads, "Now feral and bloodthirsty, Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet terrorize Christopher Robin and a group of young women at a remote house." The movie has received an underwhelming response from the audience, currently holding a 4% score on Tomatometer.
'Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey' started out as a small independent movie with a budget of $100,000, with a limited one-night event plan. But the sudden popularity led to a worldwide theatrical release, and it has already made more than $4 million at the box office.
