#The Philippines Threatens to Join Vietnam in Banning ‘Barbie’

Film regulators in the Philippines are threatening to join Vietnam in banning Warner Bros’ much-anticipated Barbie movie over a scene in the film that depicts a politically sensitive map of Southeast Asia.

On Monday, Vietnam’s National Film Evaluation Council said it was banning all screenings of the film for its on-screen inclusion of a map showing the so-called “nine-dash line,” a U-shaped line indicating China’s controversial territorial claims in the South China Sea, which Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei all say violate their sovereignty.

Speaking to CNN Philippines on Tuesday, local Senator Francis Tolentino said, “If the invalidated nine-dash line was indeed depicted in the movie Barbie, then it is incumbent upon the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board of the Philippines to ban the same as it denigrates Philippine sovereignty.”

The senator added that editing out the offending scene could be a “middle ground” compromise for Philippine regulators and the film studio. Such a move, however, could risk angering film regulators in China, where Barbie has already been approved for a release and is expected to earn far more than it does in Southeast Asia. The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Warner Bros for comment. 

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board of the Philippines on Tuesday posted a notice to its website reading: “We confirm that the Board has reviewed the film Barbie today, 04 July 2023. At this time, the assigned Committee on First Review is deliberating on the request of Warner Brothers F.E. Inc. for a Permit to Exhibit.”

The MTRCB only tends to post such notices when a film’s release permission is in dispute. It did not add when a decision might be reached.

Vietnam and the Philippines, while smaller film markets, are hardly negligible. A major Hollywood hit can earn anywhere from $5 million to over $10 million in each country.

Through its use of the nine-dash line, China has attempted to claim 90 percent of the South China Sea. In 2016, an international tribunal at The Hague ruled that China had no legal basis for such claims. But Beijing has not recognized the ruling, instead flexing its growing military might by building extensive military installations on previously uninhabited islands in the region.

This isn’t the first time that Vietnam and the Philippines have taken umbrage with U.S. movies for showing China’s preferred map. Sony’s Uncharted, starring Tom Holland, was banned in both countries last year for the same reason.

Directed by Greta Gerwig, and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, Barbie begins releasing internationally on July 19.