As Marvel embarks on the long-delayed, much-hyped U.S. launch of the Eternals, its latest franchise-within-a-franchise, a handful of Middle Eastern countries have announced a ban on the film.
As of November 3, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have ceased any plans for Eternals to screen in their theaters. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the move is due to the film’s widely touted depiction of Marvel’s first gay superhero and first onscreen same-sex kiss within the Marvel Cinematic Universe—and Disney’s refusal to censor scenes related to them. (Same-sex marriage is not permitted in these countries, and same-sex intimacy is criminalized.) These censorship demands present a moral dilemma and a thorny business challenge to media companies that are evermore reliant on tapping global audiences to expand reach, with the enthusiastic support of Wall Street.
The path to reaching the global box office, which is increasingly important to studios’ solvency, has long been fraught…
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Source : fastcompany.com
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