The blockbuster would be released on 30 March with a PG13 rating, Disney said.

Two major cinema chains have confirmed the new date, two weeks after the postponed opening on 16 March.

The film has offended social conservatives for making LeFou, sidekick to villain Gaston, the first openly gay character in a Disney film.

Homosexual activity is illegal in Malaysia under both secular and religious laws. It is punishable by a prison sentence or corporal punishment.

Gay characters can be shown in films, but only if they are portrayed negatively or repent.

The film, starring Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast, has taken more than $350m (£282m) around the world.

Director Bill Condon says Le Fou “is confused about his sexuality” and that the film shows a brief “gay moment”.

The head of Malaysia’s Film Censorship Board, Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid, told the Associated Press on 15 March that the scene in question was “inappropriate because many children will be watching this movie”.

The board asked for cuts – something Disney rejected. Local distributors then asked the board to review the decision to block the film.

The move had also sparked ire on social media and the tourism minister, Seri Nazri Aziz, had said banning the film was “ridiculous”.

There was no immediate comment from the board on the apparent reversal.

Beauty and the Beast has also raised hackles elsewhere.

In neighbouring Singapore, where sex between men is technically illegal, the Anglican Church has issued a warning to parents over the film. In Russia, it has been given a 16+ rating and, most recently, it has also been pulled from Kuwaiti cinemas.

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Source: BBC

The post Beauty and the Beast: Malaysia ‘to show uncut version’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The live-action remake of the classic animation makes LeFou, villain Gaston’s sidekick, the first openly gay character in a Disney film.

A board member at the National Cinema Company, which operates most of Kuwait’s cinemas, said an edited version might be screened later this week.

Disney is yet to comment on the move.

Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast, has taken more than $350m (£282m) around the world and opened in Kuwait on Thursday, rated PG-13.

But the National Cinema Company – which runs 11 of the 13 cinemas in the predominantly Muslim country – contacted those who had tickets to see the film on Monday to say the screenings had been cancelled.

It cited “unforeseen difficulties” and promised a full refund.

Board member Duaij Al-Khalifa Al-Sabah told the Associated Press news agency: “We were requested to stop the screening and further censor the movie for things that were deemed offensive by the Ministry of Information’s censorship department.”

The film’s “exclusively gay moment” earlier led to censors in Malaysia requesting edits, but Disney pulled the film from release there. A drive-in cinema in the US state of Alabama has also cancelled screenings of the film.

The film sees Josh Gad star as LeFou, opposite Luke Evans’ Gaston.

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Source: BBC

The post Beauty and the Beast pulled from cinemas in Kuwait appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.