'Mainland Bars Media Coverage Of Mulan's Release'

Mainland authorities have told major media outlets not to cover Walt Disney Co's release of Mulan, in an order issued after controversy erupted overseas over the film's links with the Xinjiang region, four people familiar with matter told Reuters.

Set to open in local theatres on Friday, Disney had high hopes for Mulan on the mainland, but starving it of publicity in the country's strictly censored media would be another blow to the US$200 million production.

Starring big-name Chinese actors – Jet Li, Gong Li, Donnie Yen and Liu Yifei – and based on a Chinese folk story, Mulan was tailored to appeal to the mainland audiences, the world's second-largest movie market.

But mixed reviews online and capacity limits in theatres due to coronavirus prevention measures were likely to weigh on its box office performance, even before major media outlets received a notice telling them to refrain from covering the movie.

Three sources said media outlets had received the notice, two of whom said it was sent by the Cyberspace Administration of China. A fourth source at a major Chinese newspaper said he received a text message with a similar order from a senior colleague.

No reason was given in the notice, but the sources said they believed it was because of the overseas backlash over the film's links to Xinjiang.

Neither the Cyberspace Administration or Disney immediately responded to requests for comment.

Mulan is likely to be shown on more than 40 percent of the mainland's screens on Friday, according to data from Maoyan, a Tencent-backed ticketing platform. Theatres are currently limiting capacity, typically at 50 percent.

The film had sold 9.78 million yuan worth of tickets as of Thursday afternoon, accounting for 55 percent of all ticket sales sold across the mainland for Friday's shows. (Reuters)