Because it goes against Algeria’s ideals, the country’s ministry of culture has ordered that the movie be pulled from theatres.
According to a Monday report by the local media outlet 24H Algerie, the Algerian government has outlawed the American fantasy movie Barbie, which had been playing in several local theatres for weeks.
The ministry of culture and arts, according to the source, has instructed distributors and theatres to “immediately” remove the movie from their schedules because it is “damaging morals.”
Reuters cites a government source who claims that the movie “promotes homosexuality and other Western deviances,” which “does not comply with Algeria’s religious and cultural beliefs.”
The blockbuster movie starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken has crossed $1 billion in box office receipts worldwide since its July 21 release, Warner Bros. Entertainment reported on Sunday.
According to 24H Algerie, which quoted a source from the culture ministry in charge of regulating movie content in the nation, it has been seen by more than 40,000 fans in Algeria since its release.
The Middle Eastern nations Kuwait and Lebanon had already banned the movie before Algeria decided to do the same.
According to minister Muhammad Al-Murtada, Barbie “promotes homosexuality” and goes against religious principles, which is why the Lebanese culture ministry campaigned to ban it from theatres last week.
The censorship of Talk to Me, a supernatural horror movie, and Barbie was defended by Kuwait as a means of preserving “public ethics and social traditions.”
