The Lebanese interior ministry banned the film hours before its release, on a recommendation from the General Security directorate, reports say.

The nations are officially at war, but have observed a ceasefire since 2006.

A formal request to ban Wonder Woman was first made by the Ministry of Economy and Trade, which oversees a long-standing policy of boycotting Israeli exports, which it considers "enemy attempts to infiltrate our markets".

But the decision took cinemas by surprise. One of the first indications that the ban was approved came from Lebanon's Grand Cinemas chain, which tweeted on Wednesday: "#WonderWoman has been banned in #Lebanon."