Fight Club ends with a different premise in China.
The Narrator kills Tyler Durden in the original film, which was released 23 years ago. The buildings around him explode and fall to the ground, an indication that the consumer debt within the credit card companies around them has been demolished.
In China, the film ends with the authorities swooping in, preventing the bomb from exploding, and arresting all the anti-establishment figures involved.
The original ending on the Chinese streaming site is decidedly cut. The film was cut to a black screen with the words "Tyler provided the clue that the police quickly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding." Tyler was sent to a mental hospital after the trial. He was discharged from the hospital in 2012
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The film is changed. The ending mitigates the big reveal that Tyler is not real at all.
The film was approved for distribution by the government after being edited by the copyright owner, according to Vice. Fight Club is owned by Pacific Audio and Video Co., which is connected to the state-owned television network Guangdong TV.
The original Fight Club was released at a time when Brad Pitt was banned from entering China after appearing in Seven Years in Tibet, a movie about an Austrian explorer and his relationship with the Dalai Lama. The film was set during the Chinese invasion of Tibet, with a negative portrayal of the Chinese military.
This is not the first time a major production has been edited in China. Films that endanger national security, harm national dignity, or disturb social order are regulated. The Film Industry Promotion Law was passed by China's National People's Congress in 2016 and outlines policies for film regulation. The goal of the law is to prevent any stories that threaten Beijing's sense of nationalism.
The New York Times reports that in 2021, the government in Hong Kong will block the distribution of films that are deemed to undermine national security, marking the official arrival of mainland Chinese-style censorship.
Fight Club is the most recent to get an edit in China, but there are other notable works that have been given different narratives and substantial censorship in the country.
Iron Man 3
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Iron Man 3 was tailor-made for Chinese audiences. Special bonus footage was included in the Chinese version of the movie, which was filmed in Beijing. A Chinese doctor is shown saving Iron Man's life in this version.
Bohemian Rhapsody
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The Freddie Mercury movie was shown in China, but there were no scenes about the singer's sexuality or AIDS diagnosis. There were two scenes of men kissing removed from the film.
Lord of War
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Another film with a completely different ending. Nicolas Cage starred in Lord of War, a 2005 crime film that featured a character playing an illegal arms dealer. At the end of the film, Cage is able to continue his dealing even after being sentenced to jail. The conclusion tells audiences that China is the largest global arms dealer. The film has a replacement caption that explains that Cage was sentenced to life imprisonment after he confessed to all his crimes.
Alien: Covenant
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There was a gay kiss between two androids and a scene of violence in Alien: Covenant, which was cut in China. Humans being attacked by aliens were shown in many of the cuts. Chinese viewers condemned the awkward and abrupt result of the censorship.
The Simpsons
The Springfield family is in Tiananmen Square in the 12th episode of The Simpsons. Last year, viewers in Hong Kong noticed that episode was completely missing. The location of the 1989 student-led pro-democracy protests and massacre is known as Tiananmen Square in Beijing, and the details of which are tightly controlled online by the Chinese government. In The Simpsons episode, a sign is shown at the locale, reading "On this site in 1989 nothing happened."
