'Monster Hunter' Movie Pulled from China Theaters After Viewers Complained of a Racial Slur

The new movie Monster Hunter doesn’t come out in theaters in the U.S. until Christmas Day, but it was just released in China and now has been pulled from theaters amid controversy.

Variety reports that there is a ten second-long exchange in the movie that some audience members say includes a racial slur and “insults China.” The outlet reports that the scene was intended to be a “lighthearted moment” in the film, but viewers feel differently.

Monster Hunter was shown on 25% of China’s movie screens on Friday, but after the controversy began, that number shrank to just 0.7% of screens on Saturday. Cinemas reportedly received a notice to remove the movie from their screens and that a new version is being produced.

Monster Hunter stars Milla Jovovich and was written and directed by her husband Paul W.S. Anderson. The film also stars Tony Jaa, T.I., Meagan Good, Diego Boneta, Ron Perlman, and Asian-American music artist Jin Au-Yeung, who is known to Chinese fans as MC Jin.