China pulled The Da Vinci Code from all cinemas today, giving no reason for the unprecedented decision to withdraw a foreign movie.

An official at Beijing’s New Century Cinema, where the film opened on May 17 hours before its debut in Cannes, said he had been ordered to stop showing it from tomorrow.

The official, who declined to be identified, said: "We were told it’s due to special reasons. That is all the notice that we got. If you want to watch it you had better come today."

Officials at the Film Bureau declined to comment on the reason. Film company executives said they had been told that it was being pulled to make way for local Chinese films. That explanation was contradicted by the release of another Hollywood blockbuster Ice Age: The Meltdown, opening on Friday.

It was possible that regulators made the decision after protests from Chinese religious groups. One Beijing cinema clerk said: "We received a notice from the Beijing government asking us to stop the film. It might be something to do with the religious content."

China’s state-run church had urged all its followers to boycott the film of Dan Brown's publishing phenomenon, accusing it of violating religious ethics because of its suggestion that Jesus fathered children who continued his lineage.

Liu Bainian, vice president of the official China Catholic Patriotic Association, said: "The movie has many details that go against the Catholic teachings or are even insulting."

However, only a few of China’s 1.3 billion people are Christians, with estimates ranging from 16 million to 47 million. China is officially an atheist country, although its constitution guarantees religious freedom.

Relations between Beijing and the Vatican, which do not have diplomatic ties, turned chilly again last month when the Pope censured China for installing two bishops in the state-backed Catholic church without the Holy See’s approval.

The film has been banned in several Indian states, as well as in Fiji, Pakistan and some other countries for offending religious sensibilities.

The movie was given the widest release yet for a foreign film in China, with 393 prints sent to theatres, breaking the record of 380 prints set by King Kong last year, Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International and Sony Pictures Entertainment said.

Executives said box office proceeds were approaching that of Pearl Harbor, which made $13 million as the No. 2 foreign film in Chinese box office history Titanic holds first place, taking $45 million.

Those who have missed the film in cinemas need not despair. Pirated DVD copies have been available in China since two days after the film’s release, although the quality is poor.

Explore World News

• World Agenda

• Iraq News

• US & Americas News

• Europe News

• Middle East News

• Afghanistan News

• Asia News

• Africa News

• Ireland News

Times Recommends

• Mandela’s tribe threatens President Zuma
• The French empire strikes back
• Wife of cheating governor exacts a political revenge