Wicked has been 'removed' from all movie theaters in one country
Topics: Ariana Grande, Entertainment, Film and TV, LGBTQ, World News, Cynthia Erivo
Poppy Bilderbeck
Featured Image Credit: Universal Pictures
Topics: Ariana Grande, Entertainment, Film and TV, LGBTQ, World News, Cynthia Erivo
A country which keeps banning certain movies from being shown in cinemas has reportedly added Wicked to its list.
The movie adaptation of the Popular Broadway musical has been a box office hit, smashing records.
However, despite it proving so successful with so many in one country Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo won't be appearing on any movie theater screens.
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Directed by Jon M. Chu, Wicked acts as a prequel story to The Wizard of Oz showing how Elphaba became known as the Wicked Witch of the West.
It sees Erivo star as Elphaba and Grande as Glinda, with other cast members including Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey as Prince Fiyero and Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard.
Since its release on November 22, the film has proven to be an absolute hit with musical fans, many social media users reporting not leaving the theater with dry eyes.
Wicked has obtained an impressive Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer score of 89 percent and popcornmeter of 96 percent and grossed a staggering $114 million from its opening weekend across 3,888 theaters in North America, Variety reports.
Alas, in one country, the movie is reportedly banned from being shown in any cinema.
Kuwait is reported as having blocked Wicked from being seen in any of its cinemas with local media questioning whether the alleged ban has been imposed as a result of the country's views on the LGBTQ community.
Within the film's cast, several actors openly identify as queer such as Erivo and Bailey.
And the film itself has been dubbed as intrinsically queer, Grande and Erivo discussing this in an interview with The Gay Times.
Grande noted: "Every day in the Emerald City is a Pride parade, right? Even the chickens [...] those chickens are gay."
And it's not the only film to have reportedly been banned by the country either.
Just last year, Kuwait's government banned Barbie from being shown in movie theaters, arguing the film portrayed 'ideas and belief that are alien to Kuwaiti society and public order' and so went against the country's 'public ethics', as quoted by The New York Times.
Kuwait also banned A24 horror hit Talk To Me reported by The Hollywood Reporter as being banned because one of the cast members identifies as non-binary and transgender.
UNILAD has contacted Universal Pictures for comment.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564, available Monday to Friday 4pm-12am ET and 12pm-5pm ET on Saturdays.