Variety reports that Casino Royale may be China’s next victim of the country’s “blackouts” of Hollywood films. This year’s Miami Vice and World Trade Center have already suffered from the blackouts. The Variety report states, “China usually has two or three blackout periods a year in which foreign films are not allowed to be released, but this year there will have been more.” The next blackout may block Casino Royale from making its planned 17 November release.

This delay could cost Sony and Danjaq millions if past examples hold true. Past Hollywood films have found that during forced wait of the blackouts cheap pirated DVDs flooded into a market of over a thousand million depriving the studios of box office take.

The blackouts are not James Bond’s only adversary in China. Chinese censors have yet to approve a James Bond film for release, “[Bond’s] penchant for espionage in other jurisdictions or ‘third countries’ has meant he has yet to outdo his adversaries among China’s censors.” Variety explains.

Discuss this Casino Royale news in the CBn forums. Thanks to ‘zencat’.

Casino Royale is the 21st James Bond 007 film produced by franchise holders Eon Productions. The MGM/Columbia Pictures production began shooting in January and is due for release worldwide starting 16 November 2006. Casino Royale will premiere on 14 November in London. Starring Daniel Craig as James Bond; locations include the Czech Republic, the Bahamas, Italy and the UK.

The film co-stars Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Jeffrey Wright, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, Caterina Murino, Simon Abkarian, Tobias Menzies, Ivana Milicevic, Clemens Schick, Ludger Pistor, Claudio Santamaria, and Isaach De Bankole.