Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Paramount Australia has sparked outrage after promoting the September 11 release of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film with a poster showing the heroes falling from an exploding building. Twitter

Paramount Pictures Australia dropped the controversial 9/11 poster for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles after heavy social media outrage. The released poster evoked memories of the 9/11 terror attacks.

The poster, featuring the four vigilante superheroes falling from a burning New York skyscraper alongside its release date of September 11, met with widespread criticism for its inappropriate content and overlooking a clear link to the 2001 terrorist attacks, reported Dailymail.

Paramount Pictures later realised its folly and issued an apology.

In the statement, Paramount said: "We are deeply sorry to have used that artwork for the marketing materials promoting the September 11 opening in Australia. Combining that image and date was a mistake. We intended no offence and have taken immediate action to discontinue its use."

The unintentional, but unfortunate connection to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center was met with swift outrage on social media.

The controversial poster evoked anger due to its visual similarity to the 9/11 terror attacks, which claimed the lives of 2,996 people.

The movie, starring Megan Fox and Johnny Knoxville and produced by Michael Bay, will be released in the US on August 8. The burning skyscraper poster was to be used as marketing material for Australia only.