Chinese officials have denied the release of Universal’s Despicable Me 2 - wary of US animation taking too much of a slice out of the local box office. This isn’t new - Despicable Me never made a Chinese release - while The Croods was pulled from cinemas across China two-weeks early after domestic animation producers lobbied Chinese watchdog SARFT.
Xan Brooks notes that Smurfs 2 will reach Chinese screens this Summer but the Chinese censor could cut its run short, depending on how the film performs.