After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the studios freeze the release of their next feature films. The Batman, Morbius and Red Alert will not be offered in the country until a peaceful resolution to the conflict has taken place.
The war in Ukraine invests all areas. After the invasion of the country by Russia, Disney decided to take part in the conflict by purely and simply canceling the release of its next feature film. Promised for a theatrical release in the country, Red alert ultimately won’t hit Russian screens. In a press release, the firm with the big ears explains “We will make future business decisions based on how the situation develops. In the meantime, given the scale of the emerging refugee crisis, we are working with our NGO partners to provide emergency relief and other forms of humanitarian assistance to refugees.”
Warner Bros quickly followed suit, announcing that Russian theaters would also have to do without The Batman, arguably one of the most anticipated feature films of the year. It will be the same for Morbiusproduced by Sony Pictures, a subsidiary of the Japanese manufacturer.
A big market?
Russia is one of the main markets for the 7th art. For example, since last December, Spider-Man: No Way Home grossed no less than $45 million domestically. A significant financial windfall which the studios will obviously have to do without. Especially since the program is loaded for the next few months.
At Disney, the next big date is set for May with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Warner Bros must for its part present the third opus of Fantastic Beastsspin-off of the Harry Potter saga, in April this year.
Netflix does not want to cooperate
Last December, the Russian communications regulator added Netflix to the list of “audiovisual services” thus requiring the platform to comply with regulations applicable to broadcasters with more than 100,000 daily users. Thus, N rouge had until March 2 to add the main free Russian channels to its offer, some of which are closely linked to Putin’s government.
“Given current events,” the firm of Reed Hastings finally announced its refusal to submit according to The Hollywood Reporter. A sling that could jeopardize its projects in the country, and in particular the start of its first local series. According to information from the American media, the N rouge must produce a series adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s masterpiece Anna Karenina.
