Kuwait’s abrupt ban throws a Marvel movie’s return off course
Marvel’s celebrated epic was set for a victory lap, but its re-release has hit a wall in Kuwait.
Major theater chains in Kuwait have yanked all showtimes for Avengers: Endgame Encore and issued automatic refunds after the film was blocked by the country’s censors, according to local outlet 2:48AM. Exhibitors VOX Cinemas and Cinescape confirmed the cancellations and apologized to customers, but no official reason for the ban was given.
It ’s the second time the Avengers finale has run into trouble there: the original Endgame release was reportedly barred in Kuwait in 2019 over “objectionable scenes,” then later played with cuts. This new re-release adds only about four minutes of fresh material, and it’s unclear whether those additions triggered the decision.
Kuwait’s major theater chains canceled all screenings and processed automatic refunds.
What’s in the re-release
Marvel has positioned the Encore cut as an on-ramp to December’s Avengers: Doomsday, with new material meant to tee up that storyline. While the studio hasn’t detailed the plot beats, here’s what’s confirmed for the package:
- About four minutes of new footage connecting to Doomsday
- A new post-credits scene
- An exclusive preview of Avengers: Doomsday
- A fresh color grade
- A confirmed runtime of 185 minutes
Specifics on the added scene(s) are still under wraps. There are plenty of rumors about how the footage bridges to the next Avengers movie, but nothing official has been disclosed.
Outside Kuwait, the Encore cut is set to hit theaters on September 25.