--- description: The Oscar-nominated movie is controversial overseas title: 'American Sniper' Pulled From Iraq Movie Theater image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbae062c7be72131/69877d6f524fc06afadec488/american-sniper-oscar-nom.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _American Sniper_ Pulled From Iraq Movie Theater by [Michele Corriston / People](/author/people/) ## Michele Corriston / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 3, 2015 7:45 PM CUT  From left: Actor Chris Pine and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announce Bradley Cooper as a nominee for Best Actor in the film American Sniper at the 87th Academy Awards Nominations Announcement on Jan. 15, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. From left: Actor Chris Pine and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announce Bradley Cooper as a nominee for Best Actor in the film American Sniper at the 87th Academy Awards Nominations Announcement on Jan. 15, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California.Valerie Macon—Getty Images by [Michele Corriston / People](/author/people/) ## Michele Corriston / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 3, 2015 7:45 PM CUT **Correction appended: Feb. 4, 2015** Is _American Sniper_ the new [_The Interview_](http://www.people.com/article/seth-rogen-james-franco-the-interview-twitter "undefined")? Though the war drama is a critical and [box office](http://www.people.com/article/chris-kyle-day-death-anniversary-american-sniper "undefined") success, it has caught flak in the country where it’s set for its portrayal of the Iraqi people. Now, the only movie theater in Baghdad has yanked the film following protests by viewers and the country’s government, according to [the _Washington Post_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle%5Feast/american-sniper-misfires-in-iraq/2015/02/02/312a7fee-4e18-47f5-a823-4c8979d1df44%5Fstory.html?tid=sm%5Ftw "undefined"). “It glorifies Americans and makes Iraqis out to be nothing but terrorists,” teacher Ahmed Kamal, 27, who downloaded the flick illegally, told the paper. “It portrays Americans as strong and noble, and Iraqis as ignorant and violent.” _American Sniper_, directed by Clint Eastwood, tells the true story of late Navy SEAL [Chris Kyle](http://www.people.com/article/chris-kyle-american-sniper-children "undefined"), who served four tours in Iraq. Played by [Bradley Cooper](http://www.people.com/people/bradley%5Fcooper "undefined"), Kyle was the most lethal sniper in U.S. history: He killed 160 people in the line of duty. The [Oscar-nominated](http://www.people.com/article/oscar-nominations-2015 "undefined") movie isn’t just controversial overseas: The president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee [wrote a letter](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/cooper%5Fadc%5Famericansniper%5Fletter.pdf "undefined") to Cooper asking him to condemn violent threats made against Muslims by moviegoers. Meanwhile, Hollywood is divided: [Dean Cain](http://www.people.com/article/dean-cain-defends-chris-kyle-people-now "undefined"), [Gary Sinise](http://www.people.com/article/gary-sinise-blasts-howard-dean-american-sniper "undefined") and [Blake Shelton](http://www.people.com/article/country-stars-slam-american-sniper-critics "undefined") have defended _American Sniper_, while [Michael Moore](http://www.people.com/article/michael-moore-american-sniper-chris-kyle-twitter "undefined") criticized it. _This_ [_article_](http://www.people.com/article/american-sniped-pulled-baghdad-movie-theater "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://www.people.com "undefined")_._ **Correction:** The original version of this story misstated actor Gary Sinise’s opinion of the movie _American Sniper_. He has defended it. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3694219/american-sniper-pulled-from-iraq-movie-theater/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3694219/american-sniper-pulled-from-iraq-movie-theater/"},"headline":"American Sniper Pulled From Iraq Movie Theater","datePublished":"2015-02-03T19:45:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:07:04.053Z","description":"The Oscar-nominated movie is controversial overseas","url":"https://time.com/3694219/american-sniper-pulled-from-iraq-movie-theater/","keywords":["movies","Baghdad","American Sniper"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbae062c7be72131/69877d6f524fc06afadec488/american-sniper-oscar-nom.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michele Corriston / People"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbae062c7be72131/69877d6f524fc06afadec488/american-sniper-oscar-nom.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"From left: Actor Chris Pine and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announce Bradley Cooper as a nominee for Best Actor in the film American Sniper at the 87th Academy Awards Nominations Announcement on Jan. 15, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California","caption":"From left: Actor Chris Pine and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announce Bradley Cooper as a nominee for Best Actor in the film American Sniper at the 87th Academy Awards Nominations Announcement on Jan. 15, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California.","creditText":"Valerie Macon—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3694219/american-sniper-pulled-from-iraq-movie-theater/","name":"American Sniper Pulled From Iraq Movie Theater"}}]}] ```