MUMBAI: Exodus: Gods and Kings which stars Christian Bale as Moses, has been banned in Egypt and reportedly also in Morocco. Censors described the film, which is based on the Biblical book of Exodus, as historically inaccurate.

According to the head of the censorship board, the film has depicted that the Jews had built the pyramids, and that an earthquake, not a miracle by Moses, caused the red sea to part.

However according to the book of Exodus, Jewish slaves were led to freedom by Moses. The pyramids are believed to have been built about 1,000 years before the story of the Exodus. The Biblical story tells how the red sea was parted by a miracle performed by God through Moses, allowing the Jewish people to escape from the pursuing Egyptian army.

Exodus: Gods and Kings, which cost a reported $140m, made $24.5m on its debut weekend. The film's opening was not up to the mark compared to other modern Biblical films, including Darren Aronofsky's Noah which took $43.7m on its opening weekend in March and 2004's The Passion of the Christ, which made $83.3m.

Although the state-run Moroccan Cinema Centre (CCM) had given the film the green signal, Moroccan business website Medias24.com said that officials had decided to ban the movie from being screened the day before its premiere.