For nearly the entire history of film production, certain films have been banned by film censorship or review organizations for political or moral reasons or for controversial content, such as racism, copyright violation, and underage immorality. Censorship standards vary widely by country, and can vary within an individual country over time due to political or moral change. Many countries have government-appointed or private commissions to censor and rate productions for film and television exhibition. While it is common for films to be edited to fall into certain rating classifications, this list includes only films that have been explicitly prohibited from public screening. In some countries, films are banned on a wide scale; these are not listed in this table.

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Argentina

Australia

Azerbaijan

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Belgium

Brazil

Bulgaria

Cambodia

Canada

Chile

China

Commonwealth of Independent States

Comoros

Cuba

Czechoslovakia

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Denmark

Djibouti

Egypt

Fiji

Finland

France

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Hong Kong

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Lebanon

Libya

Macau

Malaysia

Maldives

Malta

Mauritania

Mexico

Morocco

Myanmar

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nigeria

North Korea

Norway

Oman

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

Pakistan

Papua New Guinea

Palestine

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Romania

Russia

Samoa

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Singapore

Solomon Islands

Somalia

South Africa

South Korea

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sudan

Sweden

Switzerland

Syria

Tajikistan

Tanzania

Taiwan

Thailand

Tunisia

Turkey

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

United States

Generally speaking, the government itself cannot ban a film, since the United States Supreme Court ruled that films are protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution in a landmark 1950s decision. Instead of formal government censorship or bans, the film industry has, largely, policed itself through content-based ratings that are awarded to the vast majority of films that are to be publicly exhibited. Sometimes, a filmmaker may make edits to a film to avoid an 'R-rating' or an 'NC-17' rating, but a modern-day, government ban on a film would likely be struck down by the courts.

Uruguay

Vatican City

Venezuela

Vietnam

Yemen

Yugoslavia

Zimbabwe