Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Release Cancelled in China, After Bruce Lee's Daughter Complained

China has cancelled the release of Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon A Time in Hollywood".

While no official reason has been given, sources told THR that Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon made a direct appeal to the National Film Administration over her father's controversial portrayal.

The decision is expected to cost tens of millions in lost box office revenue.

None of Tarantino's previous eight films have ever enjoyed a full release in China; his ninth — boasting an incredible all-star cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie — was set to be the first on October 25.

It's been known since the film's US release in July that Shannon was unhappy with the depiction of her martial arts legend dad, who appears in just one sequence, played by Mike Moh.

It sees Lee, in between takes of a film, boasting about how he could cripple Muhammad Ali in a fight. Pitt's stunt double character Cliff Booth scoffs at this, and the two engage in a "friendly" contest to see who can knock the other down, best out of three.

The fight is broken up when the combatants are one-apiece, with Booth having flung the Jeet Kune Do founder into the side of a car. Complainants however seemed to be less offended by the result of the fictional fight, than the cocky way Lee was portrayed.

The film's Chinese financier Bona Film Group, which took a sizable equity stake for the distribution rights in China, is reportedly scrambling to get the film recut to appease the censors ahead of the planned release date, just one week away.

Tarantino's 2012 film "Django Unchained" was also supposed to get a full Chinese rollout, but was pulled just minutes into opening night, again with no explanation given. Sources at the time told THR a senior Communist Party official had seen the film on opening night and took issue with its graphic violence.

When it was re-cut and finally released a month later, pirate versions of the original were already widely available, which left the film with a paltry $2.6 million box office return.

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