"Cape No. 7," the second Taiwan blockbuster to be allowed into the mainland since "My Beloved" in 1990, is likely to miss the prime pre-Lunar New Year film season, an official of the state-owned China Film Group Corp. (CFGC) said on Thursday.

"We have about 30 movies to consider in the coming season, and we are understaffed to manage another," said Weng Li, general manager of the distribution and exhibition arm of the CFGC.

"But we are still negotiating with the film maker," Weng said.

The period from December to early February is usually the busiest time of the year at China's box office, as many domestic films debut. The second installment of "Red Cliff," reportedly Asia's most expensive film, will premier in cinemas on Jan. 15, which is 10 days ahead of China's annual Spring Festival holiday.

Subtitle issues have also delayed "Cape," Weng said. "The subtitles are in traditional characters, but our standards require simplified ones."

"Cape No. 7" is about a romance between a Japanese teacher and a local Taiwan woman when the island was a Japanese colony in the 1940s.

Costing 50 million New Taiwan dollars (about 1.5 million U.S. dollars), the movie made more than 400 million NT dollars after debuting on Aug. 22 in Taiwan, second only to "Titanic" in Taiwan's cinematic history.

(Xinhua News Agency December 5, 2008)