Mystery as China bans Da Vinci Code from the nation's cinema screens

Authorities said the withdrawal - an unprecedented move - was to make way for films produced in China, an industry executive reported yesterday.

"This is coming directly from the film bureau," she said, adding that it was the first time the government had pulled a foreign film from cinemas.

She declined to be named because she was not authorised to comment.

The film had been given the widest release yet for a foreign production in China, with 393 prints sent to cinemas, breaking the record of 380 set by King Kong last year, its distributor said earlier.

The official explanation appears to be contradicted by the release of another Hollywood blockbuster, Ice Age - The Meltdown in China today.

However, China does limit film imports to 20 a year in an effort to protect state studios.

Another possible explanation is that officials do not want the film to do well in China.

Having made 7 million there since its release on 19 May, it was on its way to becoming one of the highest-ever earning foreign films in China, the executive said.

The Da Vinci Code has been opposed by Christian groups because it suggests Jesus fathered children who continued his lineage. China's state-backed Catholic church urged followers to boycott the film, but few of China's 1.3 billion people are Christians. Estimates range from 16 million to 47 million.

China is officially an atheist country, though its constitution theoretically guarantees religious freedom.

Relations between Beijing and the Vatican - who do not have diplomatic ties - reached a new low last month when the Pope censured China for installing two bishops in the state-backed Catholic church without the Holy See's approval.

The government has issued an internal notice to state media asking them not to promote the film any longer, said another Chinese media source, who also asked not to be identified.

"The notice ordered us not to comment, discuss the film or even mention the name of the movie in any form in print," said the source.

"The movie will be banned nationwide from 9 June, so today will be last day for you to see the movie," said the source, citing the notice from the government propaganda department.

The source said the regulators made the decision after protests from Chinese religious groups, but would not elaborate.

Wu Hehu, a spokesman for Shanghai's United Cinema Line Corporation, said he received a notice to stop showing the film, but he did not know why the order was made. "This is such short notice from the film's distributor. They will stop showing it from tomorrow," Wu said. "I don't know the reason either. We just do what we are told to do," he said.

The film executive said the film's box office proceeds were approaching that of Pearl Harbor, which made 7 million as the second most watched foreign film in Chinese box office history.

Titanic holds first place, making $45 million.

Such figures still pale in comparison to the US, where a Hollywood hit can make hundreds of millions of dollars domestically alone.

The withdrawal of The Da Vinci Code from cinemas will not prevent many viewers from watching it.

Pirated DVD copies are available in China, which has come under much fire for allegedly weak intellectual property protection.