After earning strong ticket sales overseas, Avatar looks destined to surpass Titanic for gross earnings. But one country where audiences won't be flocking to see the film is China, where the movie is being pulled from a majority of theaters. The decision was made by China Film Group Corporation, a state-run company that "heavily influences if not controls decisions on how long and where foreign firms are shown," writes The New York Times. So what were the reasons for pulling the film? While some say it was all about business others say Avatar's political message played a role:

• A Routine Policy, writes Michael Santo at Huliq News: "China only allows 20 foreign films a year to be shown in theaters. Avatar has already run longer than the typical foreign film, which is normally allocated only 10 days."

• Boosting Domestic Film Companies, says David Wolf, a corporate consultant based in Beijing. The Chinese government wants to protect ticket sales for domestic films, says Wolf: "This is about making sure that Chinese films get their fair percentage of the money. This is a politically-driven cinema country, not a market-driven cinema country."

• It's Message, argues Theunis Bates at Sphere: "For most ordinary Chinese, though, bigger parallels exist between the Na'vis' struggle to save their homes from capitalist invaders, and the forced evictions of city dwellers and farmers by greedy property developers seeking to clear space for new buildings. According to official statistics, these evictions are now the most common cause of violent civil disturbances in China."

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John Hudson