A showing of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight” was supposed to happen in Hong Kong on Friday, but it was canceled after government censors got involved, said the event’s organizers, who denied that the cancellation was political.
The 2008 action blockbuster, which had some scenes shot in Hong Kong, was supposed to be shown at an outdoor cinema on October 27, but “Iron Man” will now be shown instead, according to the website for the event.
The change was made because the city’s Office for Film, Newspaper, and Article Administration (OFNAA), which reviews movies and has been given more censorship power in the last year, suggested it.
OFNAA thought that the level of violence was too high for an outdoor screening, a spokesperson for the event’s organizers, The Grounds, The spokesperson said the decision was “not unusual” and part of the licensing process.
It made the most money of any movie in 2008 in Hong Kong. Variety reported that Warner Bros. decided not to ask permission to show “The Dark Knight” in mainland China because of “cultural sensitivities.”
Other movies that OFNAA gave the same rating as “The Dark Knight” have not been removed from the outdoor showings schedule. A spokesperson for The Grounds said that two other Batman movies from Nolan’s trilogy can be shown because they are “much less violent.”
