MUMBAI: Hollywood blockbuster The Dark Knight will not be released theatrically in China.

Warner Bros. said in a statement that it decided not to release the film in China because of certain pre-release conditions and cultural sensitivities to some elements of the film.

The Dark Knight has so far grossed $531 million in the US. Directed by Christopher Nolan, it stars Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger. China has many stringent laws on the media and entertainment sectors and had blocked other Hollywood movies for political reasons in the past.

On the other hand, Warner Bros has already launched Dark Knight Blu-Ray discs. The movie witnessed Blu-ray sales of over 1.7 million units and total DVD and Blu-ray sales of 13.5 million worldwide, including consumer sales and rental sales, in one week.