Lebanon has banned DC Comics' Wonder Woman from theaters, a person close to the situation, but not authorized to speak publicly about it, has confirmed to USA TODAY.
The Beirut-based theater chain Grand Cinemas tweeted news of the ban Wednesday.
#WonderWoman has been banned in #Lebanon.
— Grand Cinemas (@GCLebanon) May 31, 2017
While no official reason was given for the ban, the Associated Press reports that the move follows a campaign in the country against Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, who served two years in the Israeli army. Lebanon is officially at war with Israel.
The ban is in accordance with a decades-old law that boycotts Israeli products and bars Lebanese citizens from traveling to Israel or having contacts with Israelis.
The ban's box office impact for Wonder Woman will be negligible, says Paul Dergarabedian, senior box office analyst for comScore. The movie was set to open Friday in just 15 theaters in Lebanon.
"If anything, it’s more a commentary on the state of world affairs," Dergarabedian says. "Any time there's a controversy like this, it only raises awareness for the film. This is all noise. Wonder Woman will be a monster hit this weekend."
Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations, predicts "easily" a $100 million opening weekend for the movie in the USA.
Contributing: Brian Truitt
