KNOCKOUT: China restores Fight Club's original ending after backlash against communist censorship

The Chinese streaming service who replaced the ending of the movie Fight Club with a caption telling audiences that authorities arrived in time to save the day has reverted their edit, according to a report by CNN Business on Monday.

The original ending shows two main characters – the Narrator, played by Edward Norton, and his love interest Marla Singer, played by Helena Bonham Carter – holding hands as explosions bring down skyscrapers and destroy all debt records, destroying consumerism by literally bringing everyone back to zero.

Tencent Video removed the shot when they released the movie on their platform in January, replacing it with a title card telling viewers that the proper authorities stopped the plot to erase all debt and mastermind Tyler Durden was committed to a mental hospital.

It is common practice for films to be re-edited for release in China to please government censors, who are sensitive to depictions criminals succeeding against authorities and social taboos, like nudity and homosexuality.

The change sparked outcry from international critics of Chinese censorship but also Chinese fans of the original book. Chinese netizens said the censorship had “spoiled a piece of classic film history,” according to CNN Business.

Fight Club’s author Chuck Palahnuik was quick to point out that the new ending was actually closer to the ending of his original book. He told TMZ that he had also dealt with censorship in the United States, where the book has been banned by local libraries and school districts.

The latest version restores the climactic scene with explosions but omits a scene featuring nudity that is also absent from the January version.

CNN Business reported Tencent said it was streaming a new version it received from its distributor. However, the distributor said it didn’t “have control” over the film’s content and was unaware a change had been made.