PETALING JAYA, Nov 12 — Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) has maintained that the runtime of the box office hit Bohemian Rhapsody in Malaysia is just three minutes shorter than the US version after moviegoers claimed that they had been robbed of some pivotal scenes.

"The runtime for #BohemianRhapsody in Malaysia is 131 minutes. The runtime in the US is 134 minutes. So it’s DEFINITELY NOT 20 MINUTES CUT. So (fill in the blank), get the facts right,” it said on its Facebook page, signing off with "Love, #GSCAdmin”.

Earlier today, Malay Mail reported Malaysian moviegoers claiming that up to 24 minutes of the biopic about Freddie Mercury, the legendary frontman of British rock band Queen, had been snipped by the Film Censorship Board

The film, which hit cinemas last week, was slapped with an ‘18’ rating

Among the scenes that were allegedly removed was the music video of I Want to Break Free — the band’s 1984 hit song — and the scene where Mercury explains to his fiancee, Mary Austin, that he is bisexual.

Moviegoers claim the scenes which were trimmed were largely of a homosexual nature and affected the movie’s plot.

The film starring Rami Malek as Mercury hit an eight-day total of US$77.265 million (RM323.39 million) at the box office worldwide as of yesterday.