Sehun (left) and Wu Qian Photo: Courtesy of Huace Media

Catman, a Chinese movie starring South Korean actor and singer Oh Se-hun and originally filmed in 2016, was removed from Chinese video platforms on Tuesday afternoon after being released for just two hours. This is the third time that the movie has been suspended in the Chinese mainland.

The short release was cheered by Chinese fans and a clip of the film was on the hot topics chart of Sina Weibo on Tuesday.
In March, it was announced on the movie's Sina Weibo account that it was released on March 14, but a few days later the movie was delayed once again as all related information about the film had been removed from Chinese ticketing platforms such as Maoyan and Taopiaopiao. 

The movie was reported to be also launched on iQIYI's international site on May 21, the platform's Twitter account iQIYI Korea announced.

In March, it was announced on the movie's Sina Weibo account that it was released on March 14, but a few days later the movie was delayed once again as all related information about the film had been removed from Chinese ticketing platforms such as Maoyan and Taopiaopiao.

The news took fans by surprise since many have already bought tickets to increase the film's presale box office and support their idol Oh. 

Originally scheduled for release in 2017, the movie was later delayed and only recently got a new release date of March 14.

The movie can no longer be found in the upcoming movie list on any Chinese ticketing platforms as of Tuesday and no reason for the removal has been given on the film's official social media channel.

A Chinese film industry insider told the Global Times that "it must have been a sudden and urgent decision, because the releasing date is still March 14 on Sina Weibo and media review platforms." 

The movie tells a fantasy love story about an internet product manager played by Chinese actress Wu Qian and an animal expert who is also half cat played by Oh. The director Park Hee-gon is also from South Korea.

The movie was originally scheduled to release after another film So, I Married My Anti-fan, a China-South Korea coproduction starring Oh's EXO teammate Park Chanyeol. So, I Married My Anti-fan was released in June 2016, just before South Korea decided to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system on July 8 of that year.

The movie's release had been seen as a signal of return of South Korean wave to Chinese mainland