'Fight Club' Ending Restored in China Amid Backlash From Fans

A censored version of the cult film "Fight Club" was uploaded by Tencent in January, prompting a colossal backlash globally as fans expressed their disappointment over the film ending with a pro-establishment note.

Tencent has restored the original ending of the movie "Fight Club" for Chinese viewers. It quietly removed the censored version of the cult film that showed police sending Edward Norton's character to an asylum.

The original ending of the film, adapted from Chuck Palahniuk's novel, shows Norton's character standing in a high-rise, watching as the nearby buildings collapse following explosions.

The video streaming firm embedded a brief note at the end of the Chinese cut that features a disclaimer saying police "rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all of the criminals".

"After the trial, Tyler was sent to a lunatic asylum to receive psychological treatment. He was discharged from the hospital in 2012", the text read.

The changes, supposedly made under the influence of Chinese censorship boards, ignited a huge debate after both viewers and human rights watchers who had seen the original described it as "dystopian".

The novelist Chuck Palahniuk wrote on Twitter: "This is SUPER wonderful! Everyone gets a happy ending in China!"

Tencent had changed 12 minutes of the film. The South China Morning Post reported that 11 minutes of the deleted scenes have been restored, while the rest showing nudity are still missing for Chinese viewers.

China, the world's second-largest film market, allows very few foreign movies on its screens and video streaming platforms, often with some changes.

Producers have made changes in the past for Chinese viewers, such as in the films "2012" and "Gravity", where Chinese institutions rescue the characters from untoward events.