China and Disney Jump Through Hoops for 3-D “Bolt” Release
Variety is reporting on the run-up to Bolt‘s release in 3-D in the Chinese market, with the Chinese government giving unheralded support to the film. The Chinese government has a 20-film quota restricting the number of foreign movies that can be imported per year, but is giving Bolt a special exemption from the quota. The movie will also be released between the Christmas to Chinese New Year holidays, when other Hollywood blockbusters have been blocked from release in that time frame using a variety of methods. Reportedly, the reason for the support is to encourage the Chinese population to pay for movie tickets rather than watch the movies at home, often on pirated DVDs or Video CDs.
However, the effort has not been without its share of difficulties. Disney needed to submit the film to censors twice, once for approval when the movie was completed and again for the dub in Mandarin Chinese, since 3-D does not support subtitles.