Hollywood studios Disney, Warner Bros and Sony Pictures Entertainment are to pause theatrical releases of upcoming movies in Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine and the unfolding humanitarian crisis.
The Walt Disney Co on Monday said that it is pausing the release of theatrical movies in Russia, starting with the upcoming Pixar Animation Studios release Turning Red.
Within hours, WarnerMedia said it would pause this week’s release of The Batman in Russia.
Photo: AFP
“We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation,” Disney said in a statement.
“In the meantime, given the scale of the emerging refugee crisis, we are working with our NGO [non-governmental organization] partners to provide urgent aid and other humanitarian assistance,” it said.
Given the ongoing military action in Ukraine, “we will be pausing our planned theatrical releases in Russia, including the upcoming release of Morbius,” a Sony Pictures Entertainment spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.
Over the weekend, the Ukrainian Film Academy created an online petition that called for an international boycott of Russian cinema and the Russian movie industry following the invasion.
Russia is a significant market for Hollywood, accounting for US$601 million in box office taking last year, or about 2.8 percent of worldwide ticket sales, which totaled US$21.4 billion, Comscore data showed.
Several major movies are slated for global release. The Batman was scheduled to open in Russia tomorrow as part of a worldwide rollout, while Paramount Pictures’ Sonic the Hedgehog 2 makes its global debut on April 8.
WarnerMedia said that it would continue to monitor the situation as it awaits “a swift and peaceful resolution to this tragedy.”
One Hollywood trade publication reported studio executives are wrestling with the Russia question, as the US and its European allies enact economic sanctions.
“If the US and its allies want to cut off Russia from the rest of the world, then how would we go ahead and release our movies there?” one studio executive told the Hollywood Reporter.
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