Cao Zhen

    caozhen0806@126.com

    ALTHOUGH “Iron Man 3” shattered China’s box office record for midnight openings Wednesday, some moviegoers were not happy with the Marvel superhero saga because the version they saw is different from the version shown outside China.

    In “Iron Man 3,” Robert Downey Jr. again stars as hero Tony Stark, and the movie’s Chinese version includes top Chinese actress Fan Bingbing and some footage shot in China.

    Before the movie was released, Marvel said there would be a Chinese version, featuring a special appearance of Fan and bonus footage made exclusively for the Chinese audience. Although Fan is cut out of the non-Chinese version, Chinese actor Wang Xueqi appears in both versions of the film.

    It is reported that the movie earned 130 million yuan (US$21 million) on the mainland Wednesday, but many moviegoers said they weren’t satisfied with what they saw in China.

    “When I watched ‘Iron Man 3,’ I felt it was like a corny Chinese movie. The added Chinese characters are abrupt and totally incongruous. There are also some Chinese product placements. Why do they only appear in the Chinese version?” a Beijing Internet user called Nickoon wrote on Sina Weibo.

    However, some Chinese living overseas regretted that they couldn’t see Fan in the movie’s non-Chinese version.

    “It’s a pity that my son and I couldn’t find Fan in the U.S. version of ‘Iron Man 3.’ Where can we see the Chinese version?” asked Klafutee, a Weibo user in the United States.

    “Iron Man 3” is not the first Hollywood movie to add Chinese cast members to a version made exclusively for audiences in China. Last year, the U.S. action thriller “Looper,” starring Bruce Willis, added Chinese actress Xu Qing to the cast for the Chinese version.

    In April, “Transformers 4” launched a casting event in China and director Michael Bay said Chinese actors would appear for about 10 minutes in the movie’s Chinese version, but not in non-Chinese versions.

    Insiders say the trend of made-for-China movies indicates Hollywood’s increasing aim at tapping into China’s lucrative and booming cinema market, where box office takings grew 30 percent last year, to 17.1 billion yuan.

    According to Chinese regulations, if a U.S. movie enters mainland cinemas as an imported movie, its U.S. producers can only get 25 percent of the box office revenues. But if the movie is a co-production with China, the producers can get 43 percent. China requires co-productions to have Chinese actors and settings in China.

    “Made-for-China Hollywood movies are cheaper to make than real co-productions and easier to get the green light for release on the mainland,” said Ji Erwei, a Chinese film producer. “I assume in the future there will be more and more of this kind of movies.”