Paramount Pictures is the latest Hollywood studio to pause the theatrical release of its upcoming films in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine last week.
“As we witness the ongoing tragedy in Ukraine, we have decided to pause the theatrical release of our upcoming films in Russia, including ‘The Lost City,’ and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2.’ We stand by all those impacted by the humanitarian crisis across Ukraine, Russia, and our international markets and will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
Earlier this week, Disney, Sony and Warner Bros. similarly announced they will not allow new movies, such as “Turning Red,” “Morbius,” and “The Batman,” to play in Russian movie theaters “in light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.” For now, several Hollywood movies that have already been released in Russia, including Sony’s video game adaptation “Uncharted” and Disney’s murder mystery “Death on the Nile,” will continue to play there.
Across the entertainment industry, companies have been debating the prospect of releasing content in Russia amid the invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces. Also on Monday, Netflix said it will not carry the 20 Russian free-to-air propaganda channels that the streamer could be required to host under Russian law.
Like Paramount, which said it “will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds,” other studios have shared intentions to keep a watchful eye on “the evolving situation.”
“We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation,” a Disney spokesperson said on Monday. “In the meantime, given the scale of the emerging refugee crisis, we are working with our NGO partners to provide urgent aid and other humanitarian assistance to refugees.”