evidence: The film, which has netted over $1 billion worldwide to date, premiered in the United States on July 9 and was subsequently released in numerous other countries, including in the Middle East and North Africa. It opened in Morocco and Tunisia on July 19, Algeria and Israel on July 20, Turkey on July 21, and Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on August 10. Barbie is scheduled to be released in Egypt on August 30, according to a statement by Safwat al-Helbawy, the head of a major Egyptian movie distribution company. [...] "The UAE Media Council has granted the Barbie movie the approval to be screened in the UAE’s licensed cinemas after completing the necessary procedures in line with the standards of media content and the UAE age classification," the UAE Media Council announced on Thursday. [...] Previous straight-to-video Barbie movies have been banned in Saudi Arabia for their portrayal of equal gender roles. By allowing Barbie to open, Saudi Arabia may be attempting to shape its global image as more culturally progressive, despite the challenge presented by the movie’s themes.