A new horror movie based on Winnie the Pooh has been banned in Hong Kong and Macau, its distributor has revealed.
Production company VII Pillars Entertainment has issued an apology for the 'disappointment and inconvenience' to viewers in the Chinese special administrative regions after news spread that the hotly-anticipated horror will not be shown in specific regions.
The horror flick has already been released in the US in February and has been shown in cinemas across the UK in March.
The ban comes as the family-friendly version of the character Winnie the Pooh has been used to protest against President Xi Jinping in recent years.
The viral meme comparing the Disney character to Jinping began after an image showing China's President Xi and former US President Barack Obama started to circulate back in 2013.
Censorship in China has since called a halt to any references to AA Milne's character, and the 2018 Christopher Robin film was banned in the country.
A new censorship law in Hong Kong came into effect in 2021, barring bars films that 'endorse, support, glorify, encourage and incite activities that might endanger national security'.
Some films have been prevented from being shown in the Chinese special administrative region.
However, Hong Kong's Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration denied the film had been censored, instead stating that it had issued a certificate of approval for the horror movie.
The film's director Rhys Frake-Waterfield told Reuters: "The cinemas agreed to show it, then all independently come to the same decision overnight. It won't be a coincidence.
"They claim technical reasons but there is no technical reason. The film has showed in over 4,000 cinema screens worldwide.
"These 30-plus screens in Hong Kong are the only ones with such issues."
Although there has been much hype over the flick, the horror movie has received a score of just 4% on film rating site Rotten Tomatoes.
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey depicts the bear, known for being kind and honest, as a vengeful axe wielding half-man, half-bear.
The movie went viral online when the trailer was released.
