«First, one brief announcement. I just wanted to mention, for those who have asked, that absolutely nothing whatsoever happened today in sector 83/9/12. I repeat, nothing happened. Please remain calm.»
Ivanova in Babylon 5: «Rumors, Bargains and Lies»
So apparently a film was made de facto unavailable through regular channels in Germany.
From Wikipedia:
Citizen Vigilante is a 2026 vigilante action thriller film produced, written, and directed by Uwe Boll. It stars Armie Hammer and Costas Mandylor. In the film, Sanders, a vigilante upset about violence perpetuated by migrants, decides to take justice into his own hands, killing immigrant criminals and corrupt officials.
The film was released in select theaters and digitally on June 19, 2026. It did not receive a film rating in Germany, effectively banning it. According to Boll, this was due to concerns the film would incite violence against migrants.
«Effectively banning» it is the right term, as the German newspaper «Die Welt» explained:
In fact, in two separate review processes, the German Film Industry Self-Regulation Body (FSK) simply did not assign the film a rating (KK), meaning it has no age rating. Unlike the familiar ratings of 0, 6, 12, 16, or 18 years and older, this means that the film cannot, in practice, be shown regularly in theaters in Germany, offered on streaming platforms, or distributed through traditional retail channels.
(…)
Nevertheless, this is not a ban. The film simply cannot be advertised, but it should still be available for sale in specialty stores. One would only speak of a ban if government agencies intervened.
(…)
The denial of an FSK rating for Uwe Boll’s film is therefore something fundamentally different. It severely restricts the film’s distribution, but does not make the film illegal.
Die Welt (translated with deepl.com)
Well, in my opinion, that approach pretty much sums up the situation in Germany at the moment. 😉
While I like action movies, including, for example, «BloodRayne» by Boll, «Citizen Vigilante» is actually a film I do not want to watch. I did not enjoy «Death Wish» (2018) or the earlier versions, so I doubt I would like this one.
But I still want that to be my decision, not the decision of German censors — sorry, «distribution-limiters».
What is interesting is how spectacularly the attempt to deny viewership has backfired. It is the Streisand effect on steroids. The film has now reportedly been posted in full on X from Elon Musk’s account, with the post saying it would remain available there for a few days. Whether that upload is licensed, I do not know. But as a distribution-control strategy, this is hard to call a success.
Perhaps «limiting distribution» is not the way to go here. I have no idea whether the movie is any good, but it has gotten an impressive reach — likely more than it ever would have with a simple adult rating.