Barbie film has a new release date in the UAE

The highly anticipated movie was initially scheduled to be released in July before the date was moved to late August

Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in Barbie, which will now be released in the UAE on Thursday. AP

The good news just keeps coming for Barbie fans in the UAE.

Now that the film has been approved to be screened by the UAE Media Council, it appears it will be showing a couple of weeks earlier rather than on its rescheduled date of August 31.

Vox Cinemas, Roxy Cinemas and Reel Cinemas have announced the Greta Gerwig-helmed film will be released on Thursday instead.

"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 authority announced late on Thursday evening.

Barbie was initially scheduled to be released on July 20 along with the rest of the world. However, early last month, cinema websites in the UAE changed the screening date to August 31. No explanation was given for the change.

Starring Margot Robbie in the titular role and Ryan Gosling as Ken, Barbie follows the pair as they set off on an adventure in the real world.

The record-breaking film also had the highest-grossing opening weekend for a film directed by a woman. It has already grossed more than $800 million at the global box office, setting it on track to be the next billion-dollar film.

“That's a crazy number,” Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros, said last week. “There's just a built-in audience that wants to be part of the zeitgeist of the moment. Wherever you go, people are wearing pink. Pink is taking over the world."

Last month, a 3D video showing a giant Barbie walking out of her pink packaging and standing next to Burj Khalifa went viral on social media.

The video, created by a social media agency in Dubai, has been viewed more than three million times since it was posted on Instagram.