VOX Cinemas will no longer release the highly anticipated film ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ in Egypt, which was scheduled to screen 21 June.
Following inquiries over their social media about whether the film would be showing in Egypt, VOX responded, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” is not releasing in Cinemas across Egypt.”
VOX Cinemas is owned by Majid Al Futtaim Entertainment in the UAE. The cancellation of the screenings immediately follows its ban in the UAE.
‘Across the Spider-Verse’ recently faced controversy and was banned in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia for failing to pass censorship requirements. The official statement from the KSA’s General Commission for Audiovisual Media was that the movie “contradicts the content controls in force.”
According to AlBawaba, the appearance of a trans flag reading “Protect Trans Kids” in the background of a scene is the likely culprit for the banning of the film.
This is not the first instance of LGBTQ+ content leading to censorship in the Middle East. The decision by VOX reflects the banning of Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ as well as Marvel’s ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ in 2022 due to the portrayal of couples in same-sex relationships.
Although VOX Cinemas has announced they will not be screening ‘Across the Spider-Verse,’ it remains to be seen whether other cinemas in Egypt, such as Galaxy Cinema or Stars Cinema, will follow suit
