Jorge Silva/Reuters
Screenings of the controversial Winnie-the-Pooh horror film have been canceled in Hong Kong sparking speculation that the movie may have been pulled by censors annoyed by comparisons made between the bulbous bear and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey—which sees the loveable children’s character reimagined into a blood-thirsty, serial-killing monster—was set to be shown in movie theaters in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory on Thursday. But Moviematic, which had organized a pre-release showing this week, announced on its social media accounts that the screening had been canceled for “technical reasons.”
VII Pillars, the movie’s local distributor, on Tuesday similarly announced that the release would not go ahead, but did not explain why. The Daily Beast has contacted the company for comment.