The Barbie movie will not be shown in cinemas in Vietnam.
The highly anticipated Warner Bros. film, which was scheduled to be released in the country on July 21, will no longer be screened.
According to Variety, the movie directed by Greta Gerwig features a scene showing a map with the “nine-dash line,” which represents China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, which Vietnam says violates its sovereignty.
Vi Kien Thanh, the General Director of the Department of Cinema of Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, said that the ban was decided by the National Film Evaluation Council, through Variety.
“We did not grant a license for the American movie ‘Barbie’ to be released in Vietnam because it contains the offensive image of the nine-dash line,” said the state newspaper Tuoi Tre, also referencing Vi Kien Thanh.
Several films in recent years have been banned for the same reason, including Unchartered and Abominable.
At the same time, the movie has just been released in another Asian country over the weekend.
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