Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings has already gotten lost in the box office shuffle at home and now it’s having trouble finding audiences overseas. In Egypt and Morocco, the film has been banned due to its “historical inaccuracies.”
In Egypt, officials said that the film has “historical inaccuracies,” reports The BBC. They cite the fact that the film shows Jews building the Pyramids and an earthquake causing the Red Sea to part instead of a miracle from Moses.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Morocco also banned the film, even though the state-run Moroccan Cinema Centre had passed it previously. The AFP reports that the agency told theaters there not to show it the day before it was scheduled to open.
Since Muslims consider Moses a prophet, the film’s release in the Middle East was expected to be problematic. Islam does not allow for the depiction of its prophets in art.
This year’s other Biblical epic, Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, also faced problems during its international release. The Paramount film was banned in several Middle East countries.
Exodus cost Fox an estimated $140 million to make and stars Christian Bale as Moses. It earned a mixed response from critics and has only grossed $45.7 million domestically since its Dec. 12 release. It has made $61.2 million in foreign markets so far.
image courtesy of Zak Hussein/INFphoto.com