‘Barbie’ Release Postponed in Middle East as Potential Ban Looms in Saudi Arabia and More Territories

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” has surpassed $700 million at the global box office, becoming the fourth-highest grossing movie of the year. After five weeks of release, the R-rated historical drama has generated $718 million at the worldwide box office, including $285 million in North America and $437 million internationally. The film has outperformed “Fast X” ($704 million) and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” ($686 million) and trails behind “The Super Mario Bros.

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Refresh for latest…: It’s still a Barbie world this weekend as the Greta Gerwig-directed charmer reached a global cume of $1.184B. Last session, Margot Robbie’s living doll crossed the $1B threshold, and in this 4th frame added $45.1M in 75 offshore markets (a 47% dip) to bring the international box office cume to $657.6M. 

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Barbie movie has been banned in Kuwait and now faces calls for a ban in Lebanon amid complaints in the Arab nations about the film’s social values.Kuwait’s state news agency said that the nation acted to protect the country’s “public ethics”, while Lebanon’s culture minister accused the film of “promoting homosexuality”.The film is however still being shown in other conservative parts of the region, including Saudi Arabia.Barbie, which is directed by Greta Gerwig and stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, has grossed more than $1bn (£784m) worldwide within weeks of its release.Lafi al-Subaiei, the head of Kuwait’s board of film classification, said that the board usually asks for movie scenes to be cut if they are deemed to flout the country’s culture. But when a film promotes behaviour the state considers unacceptable, it is banned outright.The film “promulgate[s] ideas and beliefs that are alien to Kuwaiti society and public order”, a spokesman for the Kuwaiti Ministry of Information said (via BBC News).On Wednesday, the Lebanese Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada asked the interior ministry to “take all necessary measures to ban” Barbie.He said the film “promotes homosexuality and transsexuality… supports rejecting a father’s guardianship, undermines and ridicules the role of the mother, and questions the necessity of marriage and having a family”.Meanwhile, in the US, comedian and actor Marc Maron recently hit out at the film’s conservative critics, describing them as “insecure babies”.“The fact that certain men took offence to the point where they, you know, tried to build a grift around it in terms of their narrative as right wing [expletive] is so embarrassing for them.

Deadline has confirmed that Warner Bros’ billion-dollar grossing Barbie won’t be getting a release in Kuwait, and it’s skating on thin ice in Lebanon.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Barbie” will play in theaters across the Middle East after all. Greta Gerwig’s billion-dollar blockbuster was running into censorship issues in certain territories, including in the region’s top market of Saudi Arabia, so it looked increasingly like the film would be banned. But those matters appear to have been resolved, as the movie is set to release on Thursday.

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Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Plans are underway to build a sprawling studio complex in Abu Dhabi, which is the capital of the United Arab Emirates and has served as an exterior location for portions of Hollywood franchises such as “Dune,” “Star Wars” and “Fast and Furious.” The announcement that Abu Dhabi is taking the plunge and investing in a world class studio facility comes as nearby Saudi Arabia is starting to gain traction in luring international productions. State-owned media and production hub twofour54 Abu Dhabi has announced that the filming facility, named twofour54 Studios, will span over 100 acres and comprise 11 state-of-the-art soundstages, an exterior water tank and six versatile standing sets.

Mercury Prize have been revealed, with Arctic Monkeys, J Hus and RAYE among the list.The winner of the prize will be announced at a live ceremony at London’s Eventim Apollo on September 7, and were judged by a panel including Anna Calvi, Jamie Cullum, Mistajam and more.Others on the list of nominees include Loyle Carner (for his ‘Hugo’ album), Jockstrap (for debut LP ‘I Love You Jennifer B’), Young Fathers (‘Heavy Heavy’), Fred again.. (‘Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022’) and Jessie Ware (‘That! Feels Good!’).The list is completed by Olivia Dean‘s debut album ‘Messy’, Shygirl‘s ‘Nymph’, Ezra Collective‘s ‘Where I’m Meant To Be’ and Irish folk band Lankum’s fourth LP ‘False Lankum’.See the full list of nominees below.Arctic Monkeys – ‘The Car’Ezra Collective – ‘Where I’m Meant to Be’Fred again.. – ‘Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022)’J Hus – ‘Beautiful And Brutal Yard’Jessie Ware – ‘That! Feels Good!’Jockstrap – ‘I Love You Jennifer B’Lankum – ‘False Lankum’Loyle Carner – ‘hugo’ Olivia Dean – ‘Messy’RAYE – ‘My 21st Century Blues’Shygirl – ‘Nymph’Young Fathers – ‘Heavy Heavy’In 2022, Little Simz won the Mercury Prize for her album ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’.

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