No Harry Potter Until You Watch China's Propaganda Film

Nothing says summer blockbuster like a two-hour history of the Chinese Communist Party. At least that's the theory behind China's new epic, Beginning the Great Revival. It's got more than 150 star actors, including household names like Chow Yun-fat, and it's backed by the Communist Party.

Chinese authorities set a goal to earn a total box office gross of almost 125 million dollars. But apparently, it's not generating that much interest.

So the Chinese regime is blocking the release of other, more popular films—like Harry Potter and Transformers—until Beginning the Great Revival reaches its revenue target.

Many state-run businesses have been forced to buy thousands of tickets for their employees. And some theaters issued tickets like these—that are printed for the Great Revival, but are actually for other movies.

Yet even so, Beginning the Great Revival has grossed only 46 million so far. It's more than other state-sponsored films, but less than halfway to the target.

So Harry Potter fans will just have to wait—at least until they can get a hold of one of those pirated DVDs that are flooding the black market.