‘Avengers: Endgame Encore’ Just Got Banned in an Entire Country Days Before Its Global Release

International censorship has always added an unpredictable wrinkle to Hollywood’s biggest theatrical rollouts, with films occasionally facing last-minute restrictions in specific markets for reasons that rarely make headlines back home. Most of the time, these situations play out quietly, affecting a single region without disrupting the broader release.

That’s not quite how things are playing out this week for Marvel’s latest theatrical event. Just days before its worldwide return to theaters, what was supposed to be a straightforward nostalgia play has instead become the center of an entirely different kind of story.

‘Avengers: Endgame Encore,’ directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, is set to return to theaters globally on September 25, giving audiences a chance to revisit the conclusion of the Infinity Saga ahead of December’s ‘Avengers: Doomsday.’ But in Kuwait specifically, that plan has completely fallen apart, with the film now facing a nationwide ban despite theaters having already sold tickets for its planned screenings.

The news broke after VOX Cinemas Kuwait posted a message to its official Instagram account informing fans that the rerelease would no longer be happening in the country. “Avengers: Endgame Encore will no longer be released in Kuwait. We sincerely apologize for any disappointment this may cause,” the statement read. The message also confirmed that customers who had already purchased tickets would receive a full refund.

That confirmation was echoed by fellow Kuwaiti cinema chain Cinescape, which also announced the film’s ban on its own social media account, indicating the restriction applies across the country’s theatrical exhibitors rather than being limited to a single chain.

Reassemble the team & relive the experience as Avengers Endgame: Encore returns to theaters September 25.

Tickets now available for IMAX and Infinity Vision screens: https://t.co/pZZ4PiOyQb pic.twitter.com/2wKSVG4FLz

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) August 25, 2026

This isn’t actually the first time ‘Endgame’ specifically has faced censorship issues in Kuwait. When the film originally released back in 2019, it reportedly screened with certain cuts made to comply with the country’s local censorship laws. This time around, however, the situation has escalated well beyond selective editing into a full ban, catching cinemas off guard after tickets had already gone on sale.

Kuwait maintains some of the stricter media censorship standards in the Gulf region, and it’s not uncommon for major international releases to face content restrictions or, in more extreme cases, outright bans depending on specific scenes or themes local regulators find objectionable. The exact reasoning behind this particular ban has not been officially disclosed by Kuwaiti authorities.

Despite the disruption in Kuwait, the rerelease remains on track everywhere else, with the film already playing in South Korea ahead of its wider international rollout and set to open across North America and additional global markets on September 25 as originally planned. The added footage tied to ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ remains central to the film’s marketing push regardless of the Kuwait situation.

That added connective material has already generated its own separate controversy this week, with reports of leaked footage from early screenings revealing specific plot details meant to bridge ‘Endgame’ with December’s ensemble film, adding yet another layer of unexpected drama to what was originally billed as a simple victory lap re-release.

For moviegoers in Kuwait who had already secured tickets, the refund process appears to be moving forward smoothly based on the official statements from both VOX Cinemas and Cinescape. Whether the ban gets reversed before the film’s broader theatrical window closes remains unclear, though given the precedent set by ‘Endgame’s’ original 2019 release restrictions, a full reversal seems unlikely in the near term.

With Marvel’s marketing push for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ continuing to build momentum globally, this Kuwait-specific setback is unlikely to meaningfully impact the rerelease’s overall performance, even as it adds an unexpected wrinkle to what was meant to be a purely celebratory theatrical return.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!