Due to Russian aggression in Ukraine, five major Hollywood studios have declared their opposition to the Russian government. Disney, Warner Bros., and Universal have all announced that they will be postponing the release of their next films in the country.
Hollywood Studios to postpone movie releases in Russia
It was announced on Monday that the Walt Disney Co. is halting the release of theatrical pictures in Russia, starting with Pixar Animation Studios’ “Turning Red.” A WarnerMedia spokesperson announced that the Russian release of “The Batman” would be temporarily halted as soon as possible, according to Reuters.
a Warner Bros. spokesperson told the Associated Press that because of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, WarnerMedia has decided to put a halt to the Russian release of their movie The Batman. They will keep an eye on things as they progress, and they hope that this tragedy to be resolved quickly and peacefully.
As reported by Entertainment, in April, Sony, which had planned to distribute Jared Leto’s Morbius in Russia, became the third big studio to join the initiative. Also on Tuesday, a Paramount official stated that theatrical releases including The Lost City and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will be put on hold.
“Given the ongoing military action in Ukraine and the resulting uncertainty and humanitarian crisis unfolding in that region, we will be pausing our planned theatrical releases in Russia, including the upcoming release of Morbius,” Sony told Entertainment, as quoted in the report.
Russia, as a key market for Hollywood
Based on data from Comscore, Russia is a key market for Hollywood, expected to generate $601 million in box office revenue in 2021, or approximately 2.8 percent of worldwide ticket sales, which totaled $21.4 billion last year.
Organizations from throughout the world have condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops into Ukraine’s sovereign territory. Both the European Broadcasting Union and the International Olympic Committee’s executive board have asked all international sports federations to postpone any events scheduled in Russia and Belarus for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
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