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Credit: Warner Bros.Not everyone is a Barbie girl living in a Barbie world. Two countries have officially moved to ban the billion-dollar blockbuster.
If one film could be described as the runaway hit of the year, it’s Barbie (2023). Directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie as the world-famous Mattel doll (and Ryan Gosling as “Just Ken”), the film documents its eponymous character’s journey from Barbie Land to the real world – as well as what it really means to be a woman.
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Since its release in the United States on July 21, the film has struck a chord with critics and audiences alike. As of August 6, it became the first film led by a solo female director to pass $1 billion at the box office. It’s been a rough financial year for Warner Bros. (the less said about The Flash (2023), the better), but the film also proved itself to be the studio’s fastest earner of all time, even beating out the Harry Potter franchise.
It’s also generated plenty of Oscar buzz, despite the 2024 Academy Awards technically still being seven months away, with many theorizing acting nods for Gosling and Robbie, as well as the potential for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay (the real question is whether it will sit in the “Original” or “Adapted” category). If the Academy has taste, “I’m Just Ken” will get a nod for Best Original Song, too.
However, not everyone has warmed to the film. As we previously reported, Barbie was previously delayed until August 31 in the Middle East, with some questioning whether it would even be released at all. The film has since been released on August 10 in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain – but other countries in the region have decided to pull it from theaters entirely.
Late on August 9, Kuwait announced via local news agency Kuna that Barbie has been banned as it promotes “ideas and beliefs that are alien to the Kuwaiti society and public order.”
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Barbie may also be banned in Lebanon. The country’s Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada stated the film “[contradicts] values of faith and morality” and forwarded a request to prevent its release to Lebanon’s General Security agency, which will make the final verdict. The film was previously also banned in Vietnam due to its inclusion of a map featuring China’s territorial claim to the South China Sea.
In the United Arab Emirates, Barbie is already breaking records a day into its release. Multiple movie theaters have reported record levels of demand, beating out the likes of Oppenheimer (2023), Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One (2023), and Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3. (2023).
Have you seen Barbie yet? Share your thoughts on the film with Inside the Magic in the comments!