Early Thursday morning, Kuwait News Agency reported that the Film Censorship Committee had decided to ban “Barbie” and “Talk to Me” from showing.
The committee attributed the decision to its keenness to “prevent everything that offends public morals or incites violations of public order, customs and traditions.”
The Kuwaiti decision comes after a Lebanese move on Wednesday to ban the Barbie movie from being shown in the country.
And the Lebanese Minister of Culture, Muhammad al-Murtada, had moved, on Wednesday, to prevent the screening of the movie “Barbie” in the country, saying that it “promotes homosexuality and sexual transformation … and contradicts moral and faith values.”
Al-Mortada published a decision appealing to the Lebanese General Security Service, which is responsible for censorship decisions in the country, to take the necessary measures to prevent the film from being shown.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE allowed the screening of the fictional comedy film, starting from August 10.
“Barbie” has grossed over $1 billion since its July 21 debut, according to Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The company added in a statement that “Barbie” revenues amounted to 459 million dollars in the United States and Canada and another 572.1 million dollars abroad since its launch in theaters, for a total of 1.0315 billion dollars.
Media analytics firm ComScore confirmed the revenue.
Warner Bros. said that Greta Groeg, the writer and director of the Oscar-nominated “Barbie”, also became the first female filmmaker to cross the billion-dollar revenue threshold for one of her works.
Comscore said the film grossed $127 million worldwide on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, including $53 million domestically and another $74 million overseas.
Ticket sales for “Barbie” now rank second this year, behind “The Super Mario Brothers,” which premiered in April and grossed $1.357 billion at the box office.
