WILL DARK KNIGHT RISE IN CHINA?

China has apparently decided to extend its “Local Film Protection Month” in which all foreign films are barred in order to encourage moviegoers to patronize theaters showing Chinese films. Originally, only the month of July was to have been affected; now, according to reports, August will be as well. The decision has apparently touched off an online rebellion of sorts. The British trade publication Screen noted that some Chinese moviegoers are threatening to boycott Chinese films as a result of the protective police. On one site, Weibo, a writer threatened to “lie in my home the whole of August. Another commented, “It will be the loss of movie theaters. They will let the golden movie season become trash season.” Extending the protection period could particularly harm The Dark Knight Rises, which had originally been set to open in late August but is now listed as “release date to be confirmed” by the China Film Stellar theater chain.