Balking at new regulations in China preventing foreign companies from owning a controlling interest in movie theaters, Warner Bros. International Cinemas (WBIC) is pulling out of the country. The company currently holds a controlling stake in three multiplex theaters and in two others under construction. It had also been planning to open a huge complex in Shanghai. In a statement, it said that the new regulations left it with "no other options than to stop its investments in cinemas in the [Chinese] market." Today's (Thursday) Los Angeles Times commented that the decision "underscores Hollywood's frustrations operating in China" -- pointing out that while the country presents the prospect of "the world's best growth opportunity," it also has erected a wall of countervailing protective regulations.