All the giant film production companies, Disney, Warner Bros & Sony have halted film releases in Russia in reference to the Ukrainian invasion going on. They said the step is taken in response to Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine. With the announcements, it means the releases of major movies ‘The Batman’, ‘Turning Red’ and ‘Morbius’ will now not go ahead as scheduled in the country.
Disney, Warner Bros, and Sony, all of the production houses have made promises not to release any of the films in any Russian theaters as well as vowed to keep upcoming films out of Russia.
‘In light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, WarnerMedia is pausing the release of its feature film ‘The Batman’ in Russia,’ a spokesperson of the film said.
The Walt Disney Company stated that it would suspend the theatrical release of new films in Russia, including the Pixar animated comedy “Turning Red.” They have also said Walt Disney’s “future business decisions” will be “based on the evolving situation in Ukraine.”
‘Given the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the tragic humanitarian crisis, we are pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia, including the upcoming Turning Red from Pixar,’ the company said,
Walt Disney also has delivered their urge to help with the Ukrainian invasion concern. It would work with partnered NGOs to provide “urgent aid and other humanitarian assistance to refugees.”
After some time, Warner Bros too followed the move “in light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine,” which is right now only applied to the upcoming movie ‘The Batman’
‘We hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to this tragedy,’ it added.
Sony has also suspended the release of its upcoming Marvel adaptation ‘Morbius’ in Moscow.
‘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,’ a spokesperson of Sony told the media.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been impacted and hope this crisis will be resolved quickly,’ they added
Earlier, the Motion Picture Association, a trade org that represents the largest film production outfits, including Disney, Warner Bros, and Sony issued a statement “condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
‘On behalf of our member companies, who lead the film, TV, and streaming industry, we express our strongest support for Ukraine’s vibrant creative community who, like all people, deserve to live and work peacefully,’ it said.
All of these restrictions announcements came from the production houses after the Ukrainian Film Academy urged for an international boycott of the Russian film industry over the weekend. As governments around the world have been ramping up their sanctions against Moscow, all these big production companies have made such decisions.