Written By Mikey Sutton • Editor-in-Chief • Owner
The Rock’s popularity in China apparently didn’t stop them from banning his Black Adam film.
According to a new report, China won’t allow Black Adam in its theaters. However, the fault doesn’t belong to the Rock. Rather, it’s because of one of his co-stars.
Small Screen covered a Reddit post that reveals why. We rarely discuss Reddit leaks at Geekosity. Because of their anonymous nature, too often they’re of questionable origin. Given that, file this as a possibly dubious rumor. At this point, sources have been unable to confirm this gossip. Granted, that doesn’t mean it’s false. We simply do not know how credible it is.
If Small Screen had scooped this themselves, that’d be a different story. But Reddit is sketchy.
Report: China Bans The Rock’s Black Adam
Image: Warner Bros.
Nevertheless, this does sound plausible. Furthermore, the reasons behind it are entirely believable. The normally talkative Rock remains quiet about Black Adam in China. Indeed, if Black Adam secured a release in China, he’d likely promote it already on social media.
Instead, the silence is deafening. On the other hand, Small Screen brings the noise:
It’s been alleged that the movie has been banned from being released in China thanks to none other than Pierce Brosnan…there has been footage of the former 007 actor sporting the Dalai Lama’s insignia in recent posts on social media.
In other words, it’s politics. It’s too bad Doctor Fate couldn’t see this coming. Thus far, the movie has grossed $258.1 million worldwide. And it isn’t done yet. In fact, Black Adam just completed its second weekend. To its critics, though, facts don’t matter. They’ve brought out the pitchforks and claimed it’s a flop.
Report: China Bans The Rock’s Black Adam
Image: Warner Bros.
No, it isn’t. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav even called Black Adam a success in his Q3 earnings call. You can read the full transcript here.
Without a doubt, China’s absence stings. Nonetheless, it’s not a killing blow. Small Screen‘s Edward Lauder explains why clearly:
Films that weren’t able to be released in China recently include the likes of The Batman, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. However, a lot of these movies ended up doing very well at the box office, and it begs the question, does Hollywood even need China anymore?
Those days are nearly over.