It’s important to distinguish between controversial and banned movies. One of them raises eyebrows, while the other is prohibited by the government itself. The banned movies are notorious for being restricted for a variety of reasons. Some are prohibited for political reasons, others — due to the period they came out in. But this doesn't mean that a banned movie is horrible.
There are a few examples of movies that dominated some box offices but got banned in others. Deadpool (2016) might have dominated the market in the US, but it is one of the movies banned in China for a good reason — violence. Other times, movies get prohibited for political reasons, and the perfect example is Battleship Potemkin (1925), one of the few movies banned due to the revolutionary messages it sends. Despite their flaws and hidden messages, they are still rated pretty high in the eyes of the audience.
The movies that are banned are not always bad — there are some good ones too. So, if you are out searching for the next film to watch, we have compiled some banned motion pictures in the list below. If the movie caught your attention, leave an upvote on it. Otherwise, if you have an opinion on a motion picture of your own, share it in the comments below.
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#1 2012 (North Korea)
2009 | 2h 38m | Directed by Roland Emmerich
Starring John Cusack, Thandiwe Newton and Chiwetel Ejiofor
2012 played with the idea of the collapse of society due to the apocalypse, but the reason why it got banned in North Korea is quite different and strange. In 2012, Kim Il Sung was supposed to turn 100 years old, and in the same year, North Korea wanted to declare to the world that it was a “world superpower.”
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24points
#2 Deadpool (China)
2016 | 1h 48m | Directed by Tim Miller
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin and T.J. Miller
Upon the movie's release, it caught the attention of the US and many Western audiences, but it didn't do so in Asia. China blocked the film from being shown due to the large amount of violence and graphic language present in the movie. The movie did appear at the Beijing Film Festival, but only for a limited time.
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23points
#3 A Clockwork Orange (South Korea, Some Parts In Canada And UK)
1971 | 2h 16m | Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Starring Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee and Michael Bates
Contrary to popular belief, Stanley Kubrick's dark fantasy got withdrawn from theaters at the director's request. Without a doubt, the extremely violent moments are disturbing, and Kubrick and his family received death threats for this, which is what kept the movie off British theaters. South Korea and parts of Canada banned the film on their own.\
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18points
#4 Battleship Potemkin (USA, France, UK)
1925 | 1h 06m | Directed by Sergei Eisenstein
Starring Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barskiy and Grigoriy Aleksandrov
Nothing raises eyebrows, on the governmental level, like a movie with revolutionary characters and ideas. Released in 1925, between the two world wars, this movie came from the Soviet Union and got banned in several countries, some of which later lifted the restrictions due to the movie's value for the cinema world.
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18points
#5 Zoolander (Singapore And Malaysia)
2001 | 1h 30m | Directed by Ben Stiller
Starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Christine Taylor
Even the great combo of Ben Stiller, Jerry Stiller, and Owen Wilson couldn't avoid the ban hammer. Due to its plot centering on the main character getting manipulated into trying to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia, the movie got naturally banned in several Asian countries. Malaysia banned it first, and Singapore followed soon after.
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17points
#6 Wonder Woman (Lebanon, Algeria, Jordan And Tunisia)
2017 | 2h 21m | Directed by Patty Jenkins
Starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine and Robin Wright
Sometimes, even a star's nationality can impact the movie's release. Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress, was not very liked in the Arab nations due to the strained relationship with Israel. Several Arab and Muslim countries banned the movie from their theaters, sometimes hours before the screening was about to start.
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17points
#7 Last Tango In Paris (Argentina, Italy, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, And Venezuela)
1972 | 2h 09m | Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci
Starring Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider and Maria Michi
Released in the same year as the legendary The Godfather, this one attracted less favorable attention. While the movie was good, the sexual content shown in it is much more controversial in the eyes of the censors. Some nations banned the movie entirely due to the lustful content shown on screen.
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17points
#8 The Simpsons Movie (Myanmar)
2007 | 1h 27m | Directed by David Silverman
Starring Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner and Nancy Cartwright
Even the most famous cartoon family can't hide from restrictions that a government can impose. The Simpsons Movie got banned in Myanmar due to the film using a lot of yellow and red colors, the same ones that the rebel army uses.
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16points
#9 Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (China)
2021 | 2h 12m | Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring Simu Liu, Awkwafina and Tony Leung Chiu-wai
The movie got quite a lot of praise from liberal Asian countries. But ironically, the biggest Asian market didn't allow this movie to appear in the nation's theaters. Due to some things said in a 2017 interview, China banned the movie. Marvel, however, still thinks the view of the government will change.
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16points
#10 The Dark Knight (China)
2008 | 2h 32m | Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart
Having several A-list actors on the screen, The Dark Knight is still one of the best superhero movies ever! Sadly, not everyone got to experience this movie in theaters. Due to some sensitive scenes and the pre-release requirements from the government, the audience in China didn't get the chance to see this movie on the big screen.
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16points
#11 Borat (Kazakhstan And In Almost All Arab Countries)
2006 | 1h 24m | Directed by Larry Charles
Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian and Luenell
Sometimes, a character alone can anger the governments of the world. With the movie focused on a fictional Kazakh journalist, the people in Kazakhstan were quite angry. The movie portrayed them to be quite antisemitic and vile. Thus, the film got banned in Kazakhstan and some Arab nations.
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15points
#12 Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (Saudi Arabia And Kuwait)
2022 | 2h 06m | Directed by Sam Raimi
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen and Chiwetel Ejiofor
Even talking about controversial topics can land some movies in some hot water. America Chavez, one of the few lesbian characters in the Marvel universe, was shown in a different light in the latest Doctor Strange movie. In the film, instead of being a lesbian herself, she had two mothers. It was enough to get the movie banned in some countries.
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15points
#13 The Hunger Games (Vietnam, Thailand And India)
2012 | 2h 22m | Directed by Gary Ross
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth
What’s so controversial about teenage people fighting for their lives (and districts) and running around a hostile environment? Well, some governments found the movie too much for their citizens. Since the film had some hints of the Vietnam war, the nation of Vietnam banned the movie, citing the violence present.
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14points
#14 Suicide Squad (China)
2016 | 2h 03m | Directed by David Ayer
Starring Will Smith, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie
China is not one to allow movies with massive amounts of violence to be shown in their cinema theaters, no matter how good (or bad) the film is. With this movie glorifying crime, violence, and many more not-so-nice things, China banned the movie, even when the studio suggested cutting some scenes out.
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14points
#15 The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Vietnam)
2011 | 2h 38m | Directed by David Fincher
Starring Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara and Christopher Plummer
Like in the novel, this movie has some sensitive scenes that might raise some eyebrows. Upon its release, the movie was banned in the nation of Vietnam by the Vietnamese National Film Board. The reason is that Sony Pictures didn’t meet the requirements of cutting out some sensitive scenes.
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14points
#16 Onward (Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, And Saudi Arabia)
2020 | 1h 42m | Directed by Dan Scanlon
Starring Tom Holland, Chris Pratt and Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Lena Waithe voices a cyclops officer in the Pixar picture Onward. With her one spoken line, she uses the well-known LGBT slogan, "It gets better." In Russia, the scene with the line was deleted to meet the censorship requirements, while Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia banned the film entirely.
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14points
#17 The Matrix Reloaded (Egypt)
2003 | 2h 18m | Directed by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski
Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss
There are a lot of philosophical and theological concepts in this movie that revolve around robots that enslave humans. The main intention was to engage the viewer so that they could decipher them. Sadly, some of these concepts were too religious, and Egypt banned the movie for that reason.
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14points
#18 The Wolf Of Wall Street (Most Of Africa, Singapore And Nepal)
2013 | 3h 00m | Directed by Martin Scorsese
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie
If you have ever seen this movie, you might have noticed the amount of explicit sexual content and curse words present. So it's not a wonder why it got banned in some Asian countries, Singapore and Nepal. The first country to restrict it, Kenya, cited the shown content as the reason for the ban.
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13points
#19 Barney’s Great Adventure (Malaysia)
1998 | 1h 16m | Directed by Steve Gomer
Starring George Hearn, Shirley Douglas and Trevor Morgan
Not everyone is willing to allow their citizens to watch the adventures of the famous pink dinosaur — Barney. Some governments found the catchy tunes and colorful characters too much for their growing populations. Malaysia banned the Barney movie as it was “unacceptable” for the children.
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13points
#20 There Is No Evil (Iran)
2020 | 2h 31m | Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof
Starring Zhila Shahi, Baran Rasoulof and Mohammad Seddighimehr
Sometimes, banning a movie is not enough for a nation — they can decide to take further action. This movie, which touches upon the themes of executions and capital punishment in Iran, was banned by the Iranian government. Adding more salt to the wound, the director of the movie was also arrested and prohibited from filming in the nation.
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13points