Disney won’t cut ‘Beauty’ to soothe Malaysia

Walt Disney Co.’s live-action remake of “Beauty and the Beast” will not be shown in Malaysia after the Burbank entertainment giant declined to remove a brief gaythemed scene from the film.

Malaysia’s Film Censorship Board had asked Disney to trim a ballroom dancing scene involving the villain Gaston and his manservant, LeFou.

Director, Bill Condon has described the seconds-long scene involving the two characters as including a “gay moment.” Condon has said that LeFou, who has an apparent crush on Gaston, is “confused about his sexuality.”

The movie, which stars Emma Watson, had been scheduled to open in Malaysian theaters Thursday.

“The film has not been and will not be cut for Malaysia,” a spokesperson for Walt Disney Studios said.

Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country, is a small movie market. For example, two recent Disney blockbusters that grossed $1 billion worldwide, “Zootopia” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” each took in less than $4 million in the country, according to Box Office Mojo.

“Beauty and the Beast,” which also stars Luke Evans as Gaston and Josh Gad as LeFou, opens in the U.S. on Thursday night. The film is expected to have the biggest debut so far in 2017, perhaps taking in as much as $150 million in the U.S. and Canada. Prognosticators also say the movie could reach $1 billion in global ticket sales.

The film is a remake of Disney’s 1991 animated version of “Beauty and the Beast,” which won two Academy Awards and grossing $425 million worldwide.

Russia allowed the remake to be shown with a 16-plus rating, meaning that children under 16 can see the film only if they are accompanied by someone older than 16. A drive-in theater in rural Alabama also has said it will not screen the film because of the LeFou sequence.