'Exodus...' banned in Egypt

Actor Christian Bale's "Exodus: Gods and Kings" has been banned in Egypt a week before its planned New Year's Eve release.

A report from an Egyptian site said censors issued the ban due to the movie's "historical inaccuracies".

Egyptian cultural minister Gaber Asfour said the depiction of Jewish slaves as being the builders of the Great Sphinx and Pyramids is inaccurate because the monuments are accepted to have been built around 2540 B.C. -- 500 years before Abraham, the father of Judaism, reports variety.com.

"This totally contradicts proven historical facts. It is a Zionist film. It gives a Zionist view of history and contains historical inaccuracies, and that's why we have decided to ban it," Asfour said.

Ridley Scott's movie, based on the bible's book of exodus, stars Bale as Moses and Joel Edgerton as the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses.

"Exodus" has grossed nearly $46 million in its first two weeks in the US and another $62 million from 39 international markets.

Earlier this year, Egypt banned another biblical epic, "Noah", asserting it violated Islam by portraying a prophet.