The rumours are true, the release of the new Barbie Movie has been pushed to August 31st in the Middle East. A piece of devastating news for anyone who was looking forward to watching the movie. Many have even begun speculating on the probable ban of the movie after learning about the new release date. Keep scrolling to learn more about the new release date, potential ban and more.
I just received news that #Barbie has been postponed in the middle east until the end of August. I guess Barbenheimer will not be happening here.
— Anis Tabet (@AnisTabet23) July 5, 2023
Ever since the release of the teaser for the movie, fans all across the globe have been eagerly anticipating the release of the Barbie Movie. Anis Tabet who works as an assistant marketing manager at Empire Cinemas in Saudi Arabia broke the news about the new release date, which seems to have caused quite an uproar amongst all Barbie fans in the Middle East. The news was later confirmed when VOX and other cinemas across the Middle East changed the release date on their websites.
The movie was originally set to release later in July this year but changed dates to the end of August. Many speculate, that the movie might be violating censorship guidelines, while some theorise that it could be to give more screen time for movies like Mission Impossible. Movies like Disney and Pixar’s Lightyear, Sony’s Spiderman: Across The Spider-Verse and Scream VI, were all banned in the Middle East for the same reason. Countries like the Philippines have also threatened to follow Vietnam’s lead in banning the film due to the politically sensitive issue of the nine-dash line.
The #Barbie movie will most probably get banned in the Middle East, the new trend for banning a movie is pushing the release date closer to the global VOD release date then ban it, we saw this happen to Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse and recently Asteroid City.
The reason… pic.twitter.com/7QUECDZTqo
— Moey (@Moeys) July 5, 2023
Many fans have taken to social media to express their disappointment over the delay, with one user commenting, “Unfortunately censorship has to be done by the studio itself, if they refuse to cut out the scenes that’s when the ban happens.” While another user said, “These types of movies that get banned, will eventually roll out into streaming services, without any censorship.”
With all the recent movie bans happening in the Middle East, we can’t help but wonder what the trajectory of this movie could be in this region. Each country reportedly earns somewhere between Dhs18,365,200 to Dhs36,730,400 if the movie is a Hollywood major hit. On the brighter side, if you were wondering which movie to watch first, Barbie or Oppenheimer, you don’t have to worry about making that decision anymore.
Read More: Here Are 10 Barbiecore Swimsuits To Shop For The Summer
