China censors original ending of Fight Club so authority wins

The original ending of Fight Club reaches a climax involving the main character killing his imaginary alter ego Tyler Durden, with bombs destroying buildings in the backdrop as Edward Norton’s character looks out.

The movie has been given a new, less violent ending in China, one where the authorities come out on top.

In a version on the Chinese streaming platform Tencent, the new ending features Project Mayhem being foiled, with the main character being placed in an insane asylum.

"Through the clue provided by Tyler, the police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding," the Tencent Video version tells viewers. "After the trial, Tyler was sent to lunatic asylum receiving psychological treatment."

According to Vice: "A source familiar with the matter said the film was edited by the copyright owner and then approved by the government before it was sold to streaming sites for distribution. The Chinese publisher of the film, Pacific Audio & Video Co., is an affiliate of the state-owned Guangdong TV."

The censored ending has caused backlash on social media, with the author of the 1996 book "Fight Club," of which the 1999 movie was based on, weighing in.

"Have You Seen This Sh*t? This is SUPER wonderful! Everyone gets a happy ending in China!" author Chuck Palahniuk wrote on Twitter.

"Tyler and the gang were all arrested. He was tried and sentenced to a mental asylum. How amazing. I'd no idea! Justice always wins. Nothing ever exploded. Fini," he added in his Substack.

"The second rule of Fight Club is 'we will do and say whatever the Chinese communist censors tell us to do and say,'" wrote Sen. Ted Cruz.

Some even created their own joke endings.

According to Bloomberg, another movie featuring an edited ending is the 2005 movie Lord of War starring Nicholas Cage, telling the story of an arms smuggler.

The version streamed in China is missing the final 30 minutes of footage, replaced with white text on a black screen saying "Yuri Orlov confessed all the crimes officially charged against him in court, and was sentenced to life imprisonment in the end."