Two of America's biggest cinema chains, Regal and Cinemark, have refused to screen the controversial UK-produced Death of a President when it is released later this month.

Terrell Falk, a spokesperson for Cinemark, told the Guardian: "The assassination of a sitting president is problematic subject matter."

Gabriel Range's film, originally commissioned for television by Channel 4 and screened on More4 last night, uses a faux-documentary style to depict the assassination of George W Bush in October 2007.

The film sparked fierce debate when it premiered at the Toronto film festival last month, and was picked up for distribution in the US by Newmarket Films. Newmarket is negotiating with other cinema chains in advance of the film's US release on October 27. "It's a good political thriller," said the company's co-founder Chris Ball. "It's certainly not a call for violence."

Simon Finch, who co-wrote the film, said: "We're sure [Newmarket] are going to find plenty of theatres prepared to screen the movie."