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29 March 2024

'Fifty Shades of Grey' will not be released in UAE cinemas

US actor Jamie Dornan and US actress Dakota Johnson pose for photographers on the red carpet as they arrive for the screening of Fifty 'Shades of Grey' as part of Berlinale Special Gala at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival Berlinale in Berlin, on February 11, 2015. (AFP)

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By Staff

'Fifty Shades of Grey' smoked the competition post its release last weekend in US to become the biggest-ever Presidents Day holiday debut with a massive $94.4 million haul.

But in the UAE the movie release is up in smokes.

Under the heat of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele's chemistry the National Media Council (NMC) and the distributors have decided to stall the release of the movie.

The distributor's office, Four Star Films, responded to Emirates247 call saying it's under the censor's review.

The decision to pull it back from UAE cinemas follows after the council's (NMC) decision to cut 35 minutes from the 125-minute film.

The movie, based on the book of the same name, is adapted from EL James' bestseller, stars Jamie Dornan as a billionaire with kinky bedroom proclivities and Dakota Johnson as a college student who falls under his spell.

The film received an R rating in the US, where it made $81.7 million at the box office when it opened last weekend, while in the UK the film was given an 18 certificate.

Other countries that have banned 'Fifty Shades of Grey' include Malaysia, Kenya and Indonesia, while distributors in China have decided against releasing it.

Critics have widely panned the movie after its world premiere last weekend, with a 3.9 out of 10 rating on movie website IMDb.

'Fifty Shades of Grey's' no-show doesn't come as a surprise due to the sexual candor - mixing romance with bondage, deemed as inappropriate viewing in the region.

Previously, 'The Wolf of Wall Street' was heavily edited for its UAE release.

Approximately 45 minutes of material was removed from Martin Scorsese's movie, which details the exploits of a rouge Wall Street trader, played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

'Black Swan' and 'Love and Other Drugs', were also banned by the censors in the UAE for 'excessive sexual content.'

Downloaded:

Pirates are showing a passion for 'Fifty Shades of Grey,' with copies of the erotic thriller downloaded almost 300,000 times worldwide within three days of the film's U.S. theatrical debut.

That's despite the pirated versions being low-quality recordings apparently made with a handheld camera in theaters.

As of 6 p.m. ET Sunday, 'Fifty Shades of Grey' had been downloaded via torrent sites by 298,037 unique Internet addresses, according to piracy-tracking firm Excipio.

The top market was the U.S., with 44,896 downloaders, followed by the U.K. (33,839), India (19,298) and the Philippines (16,952), the company said.

Also see: Movie Listings in UAE