How Russian cinemas will compensate for the loss of Hollywood cinema

On the night of February 28 to March 1, American majors - Disney, Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures - reported that they refuse to release their new films, explaining this by a Russian special operation in Ukraine. Yes, Warner Bros. canceled the screening of the new "Batman", which was supposed to premiere on Wednesday, March 2. Disney announced the suspension of all its releases, including the cartoon "I'm Blushing", which was scheduled to premiere on March 10. Sony Pictures, in turn, canceled in Russia the start of the release of the Morbius movie comic starring Jared Leto, scheduled for March 24, scheduled for March 24.

Cinemas, although they expected such an outcome, were not ready for such a rapid development of the situation, Anna Tatarenok, a representative of the Luxor cinema chain, told RBC. “Last night, Disney held a press screening of the animated film “I'm Blushing”, and a few hours later announced a boycott and cancellation of rental in Russia. The duration of the restrictions is not yet clear, but presumably they will also affect the sequel to the film comic Doctor Strange (premiered on May 5) and the animated film Buzz Lightyear (July 21), Tatarenok added.

Even more "painful blow", according to the representative of "Luxor", was the cancellation of "Batman" a day before the premiere. Ticket sales for the most anticipated blockbuster of the spring were opened almost a month in advance. Pre-sales for "Batman", according to the Unified Automated Information System of the Cinema Fund, have already exceeded 19.5 million rubles. In addition, supportive marketing programs were at the start.

The press service of the Karo cinema chain told RBC that they plan to "work with what is." In fact, for March, the networks had only foreign cartoons “Moon Adventures” and “Bad Boys”, the American action movie “The Mercenary”, as well as two Russian comedies “I Want to Get Married” and “Doctor Whistle”. So far, no one understands the consequences of the decision of Western film companies, says Alexei Vasyasin, general director of the united network of Cinema Park and Formula Kino cinemas. According to him, there is not even a rough estimate of the March prospects.