China's biggest box office weekend scrapped amid coronavirus crisis
Cancellations mean lucrative films including The Rescue and Detective Chinatown 3 also cannot be seen in UK and US
China's biggest film weekend of the year has been derailed by the crisis over the coronavirus outbreak gripping the country, with a knock-on effect of wrecking a major effort by the Chinese film industry to penetrate the international box office.
The lunar new year holiday (this year, 25 January) is traditionally a high season for movie distributors and cinema chains as people gather and enjoy leisure activities such as watching movies during the week-long holiday. But the coronavirus outbreak, which has prompted a lockdown of central China's Wuhan city, as well as in neighbouring Huanggang, has led film companies to cancel their releases.
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