Greta Gerwig's film was banned in Kuwait and Lebanon: the former justified the decision by protecting public morals, while the latter accused the film of promoting homosexuality.
According to Kuwait's Ministry of Press Regulation, Barbie "promotes values different from those of Kuwaiti society".
By the way, the ministry regularly reviews films, and while in some cases only certain details, mostly sexual content, are cut out of them, it sometimes recommends banning the entire film.
Mohammad Mortada, the Lebanese Minister of Culture, stated that Barbie "contradicts the values represented by faith and morality by underestimating the importance of the family".
Following the decision of the head of the ministry, the Ministry of the Interior instructed the office responsible for the censorship of films, operating under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior, to examine the film and make its recommendations.
Mortada is supported by the Hezbollah Shia militia, which has great influence in Lebanese political life, whose leader, Hassan Nasrallah, recently demanded the death penalty for homosexuals in a speech.
At the end of July, the screening of Barbie was also banned in one of Pakistan's provinces, Punjab, by the local authorities, citing "objectionable content".
Vietnam also banned the comedy because it featured a map depicting China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.
This week, Wagner Bros., the distributor of the film, announced that Barbie reached one billion dollars (HUF 355 billion) in ticket sales just 17 days after its release. The amount is a record, as Greta Gerwig is the first woman to reach the one billion milestone as the sole director of a film. Warner called the result a watershed.
MTI
