'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' India Release Canceled After Local Censor Board Deemed Film 'Unsuitable'

Despite having not yet opened in either Japan or China, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" has already earned $167 million worldwide -- a pretty great number for a film that many hysterics continue to call a "box-office disappointment." Unfortunately, for Team "Tattoo" those lofty global figures won't get a jolt from the 1.17 billion people that call India home; the local ratings board there has deemed "Dragon Tattoo" "unsuitable for public viewing."

The decision comes after David Fincher refused to make any edits to his R-rated adaptation of Stieg Larsson's best-selling book. Not surprisingly, the scenes that drew the ire of the censor board were of the sexual variety: two sex scenes between Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) and Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) which feature full-frontal female nudity; a lesbian kiss between Salander and a girl; and the rape and torture of Salander by her social worker.

In a statement to THR, Sony confirmed that "Dragon Tattoo" would not open in India.

"Sony Pictures will not be releasing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in India. The Censor Board has adjudged the film unsuitable for public viewing in its unaltered form and, while we are committed to maintaining and protecting the vision of the director, we will, as always, respect the guidelines set by the Board."

How this will affect the "Dragon Tattoo" bottom line remains to be seen, but don't rally the troops for a telethon just yet; "Tattoo" is closing in on $100 million domestically, and should comfortable sail past $200 million in global sales before it shuffles out of theaters. Sony is already planning on adapting "The Girl Who Played With Fire," Larsson's second entry in his Millenium Trilogy, for theatrical release in the next couple of years.

[via THR]

Comments

[Luuke]

05:48 PM on 01/31/2012

effuuseeek....its already on letmewatchthis.ch on HD for free....

[My Daed]

12:35 PM on 01/30/2012

The movie was entertaining but simplistic and trite. Every MALE was a murdering, child molesting, raping, cheating, Nazi. (literally). And every FEMALE was beyond beautiful, innocent, smart, ethical and of course, A VICTIM of the male...

[bjbold]

03:39 AM on 01/30/2012

Read the books, saw the original Swedish version of all three movies. That is enough. I've been told this movie is "wonderful", but not being a masochist, I'm passing.

[ArtsyJane]

02:39 AM on 01/30/2012

Whatever India.

[Curt F]

01:46 AM on 01/30/2012

Maybe if they edit into the movie a lot of singing and dancing.......

[Macus]

01:41 AM on 01/30/2012

Indians already have it on bootleg.

[lodazal]

01:35 AM on 01/30/2012

The censor just guaranteed the film a bigger audience by banning it.

[CSNC]

12:59 AM on 01/30/2012

"'Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' Deemed 'Unsuitable' In India"

I heard it is a very depressing movie with a "sex" scene not suitable for anyone with a weak stomach. Your views?

H

[Jamie Schler]

01:24 AM on 01/30/2012

The problem with the film was that so many details of the book had to be cut out because of a question of time. This meant that the film (and each segment) was only completely understandable if one had read the book. The violent sex scene made total sense if one has read the book.

[CSNC]

01:30 AM on 01/30/2012

HuffPost Blogger Jam...,

Thanks for the feedback. I don't do well with violent sex scenes, so I probably should not 1) read the book and 2) watch the movie.

Once again, I appreciate the information.

H

[Blind WatchMan]

12:34 AM on 01/30/2012

Ha, I'm in India but still I saw it

[bllbgwll]

11:55 PM on 01/29/2012

The only thing unsuitable about the Hollywood version of this movie is its total unnecessity. Anyone who has seen the Swedish trilogy with Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander has seen the definitive portrayal.

[KilgoreSurfs]

12:56 AM on 01/30/2012

"That's, like, your opinion, man." I disagree. Having seen both I thought Rooney Mara's portrayal was much better.

[RV1025]

01:42 AM on 01/30/2012

I have to agree that this version is redundant. Ended up leaving halfway through once that fact sunk in. Wasn't easy getting my money back, but I worked my magic.

I have to say, I don't remember Rooney Mara having an ounce of screen presence. Seemed like a void on the screen whenever she was in the movie. She just seemed to small/precious an actress to even think about portraying such a character.

Reminded me of when the guy from Swingers tried to play Norman Bates. Was so wrong, so bad, it ruined the movie...

[zack5]

11:52 PM on 01/29/2012

I liked thi movie very much. That girl is great.

[tonyjim]

01:43 AM on 01/30/2012

Yeah, if you like to watch a functional autistic female having sex.

[aacme]

02:18 AM on 01/30/2012

And hey, who doesn't?

[William Diaz]

10:43 AM on 02/04/2012

If I didnt, my wife would be pissed off at me...

Have a great day!

[oilfield]

11:52 PM on 01/29/2012

ironic that a country that has kid brothels would ban a movie from a rape scene.

[jetscan]

01:43 AM on 01/30/2012

And your morals are superior? Wow, ever looked in the mirror. Remember "He who is without sin...."

[oilfield]

08:51 AM on 01/30/2012

the great thing about freedom and us limited government types.....is you can choose your own morals, if you dont want to go, dont.

[Luuke]

05:54 PM on 01/31/2012

Isn't it a bit rich for you talkin about kid brothels when you had a story of Jaycee Lee Dugard....

[jedwightn]

11:11 PM on 01/29/2012

I don't blame them, the Swedish version is much better.

[abuja19]

11:09 PM on 01/29/2012

I liked this movie. Good stuff.

[peptobismal]

11:06 PM on 01/29/2012

Wow, I wonder what they would do to the Swedish version. Watched it on Netflix several months ago. The book was slow. Everyone said wait til you get to the middle. I guess by the middle of the book I might not keep tripping over the Swedish character names and how my brain REFUSED to remember them and therefore impossible to keep anything straight. Anyway, the Swedish movie with subtitles was very, very explicit. And yes, it was hard to watch the action in the background while reading the subs and listening to Swedish. It is just such a different language for the "english" speaking brain to process. Sorry Swedes, really. I just can't get the Muppets Swedish Chef (borkbork) out of my mind.

[bllbgwll]

12:06 AM on 01/30/2012

The way to watch a movie with subtitles is to NOT listen to the language and focus on reading the subs. That way your brain is not trying to give itself a language lesson.

The plot was pretty complex. I'm not sure you (or I) would have any easier time remembering the character's names in English.

I doubt there's any help for you regarding the Muppets Swedish Chef. Enjoyed your post.

[peptobismal]

08:31 PM on 01/30/2012

I agree about not listening, but I enjoy having the sound on...and it's hard not to listen.
bork bork