Gangster Squad
Warner Bros. pulled the film's star-studded trailer from future showings of The Dark Knight Rises following the horrific Colorado shooting because of a scene in the movie clip in which a group of armed men enter a crowded movie theater and open fire.
Neighborhood Watch
20th Century Fox yanked the Ben Stiller-Vince Vaughn comedy's teaser trailer and poster from theaters in Florida in the wake of the Trayvon Martin killing.
Hereafter
Warner Bros. pulled Clint Eastwood's 2010 drama from all 180 screens in Japan saying scenes depicting 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami were "not appropriate" while nation was recovering from its own catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.
Deadline
The sudden death of star Brittany Murphy led DVD rental company Redbox to recall box art from this straight-to-DVD thriller.
Phone Booth
The 2003 release of this harrowing thriller, featuring Colin Farrell as a man held hostage by a sniper at a telephone booth, was delayed by five months in light of the real-life D.C. sniper who terrorized the Eastern seaboard.
Big Trouble
Having a nuclear device in your comedy might make for good laughs if you're director Barry Sonnenfeld, but Touchstone ended up with a serious dilemma on its hands when 9-11 happened and it found this film's plot hit too close to home. The Disney-owned studio subsequently delayed Big Trouble by nine months and toned down the advertising which resulted in the flick fading quickly from theaters.
Spider-Man
One of the most high-profile cases of bad timing post 9-11, Sony pulled the superhero film's teaser posters because it showed Spidey with the World Trade Center in the background. Also deep-sixed was an early trailer which showed a gigantic spiderweb between the buildings.
Collateral Damage
Warner Bros. marketeers axed the trailer and delayed the release of this Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick after 9-11 because of its plot, which followed a firefighter battling terrorists who killed his family in an attack on a skyscraper. Also edited out was a plane hijacking scene featuring Sofia Vergara.
Unlawful Entry
This 1992 thriller starring Kurt Russell and Madeleine Stowe as a couple terrorized by a dangerous cop (Ray Liotta) had a pivotal, graphic scene reedited because it too closely resembled the Rodney King beating.
Body Parts
Paramount pulled the plug on commercials in Wisconsin for this 1991 horror flick starring Jeff Fahey, who plays a man who loses his arms in an auto accident only to receive new limbs from an executed serial killer. Alas, Body Parts hit theaters two weeks after the arrest of notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, making for an uncomfortable marketing campaign to say the least.
The China Syndrome
Columbia Pictures yanked this Jane Fonda vehicle from some theaters and altered its PR campaign after the Three Mile Island Nuclear accident, which closely mirrored The China Syndrome's plot. The real-life mishap occurred 12 days following the film's release making it an all-too realistic experience for moviegoers.