Hustlers banned in Malaysia after Jennifer Lopez film deemed not suitable for public screening
Hustlers may be gaining praise from critics and audiences across the world, but Malaysian fans sadly wont be able to join in the fun after it was pulled from cinemas ahead of release.
Despite only gaining a 15 rating in the UK for sexualised nudity, strong sex references, language and drug misuse, the Southeast Asian countrys film censorship board said Hustlers inclusion of naked breasts, sexual scenes and drugtaking made it inappropriate for public screening.
The film, which follows a group of female strippers, was due to hit cinemas on 19 September, with the news only being confirmed by Malaysian film distributor Square Box Pictures on the planned day of release.
We regret to inform you that Hustlers movie release has been cancelled as it has been banned in Malaysia, they wrote on Instagram.
We deeply apologise for the inconveniences caused to our beloved followers, fans of the movie, media and partners.
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The decision to ban the heist comedy appears to have been a last minute one, as the company had been promoting the films Malaysian release on social media since July, with their most recent promotional post coming just two days before the planned release date.
Around the rest of the world, Hustlers, which stars Lili Reinhart, Keke Palmer and Constance Wu, has continued to break records, raking in $33.2 million (£26.5 million) in the US alone in its first weekend alone, making it the highest grossing J-Lo movie. Go girls!
Metro.co.uk gave Hustlers 4.5 stars, calling Jennifer the ultimate boss whose role in stripper film Hustlers just confirms the Oscar whispers are well-deserved.
However, its not the first time that a commercially successful movie has been censored by Malaysian film authorities.
More: Jennifer Lopez
In August, the board came under fire for editing gay sex scenes from Elton Johns musical biopic Rocketman, on the premise that they do not allow any scenes that promote LGBTQ in films that are for public viewing.
Elton had previously condemned the editing out of similar sceneRead More – Source
