Warner Bros. Says “Nyet” to Russian Release of ‘The Batman’, Joins with Disney and Sony In Cinematic Sanction Solidarity
The Dark Knight is taking on the Red Menace.
Warner Bros. is the latest studio to pull a pending blockbuster release from Russian theaters in protest of that country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Following the lead of Disney, which pulled its upcoming Pixar outing Turning Red, and Sony, which yanked Morbius out of cinemas, Warner Bros. announced that it will not be screening The Batman in Russia until the conflict is over.
WarnerMedia issued a statement, saying “In light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, WarnerMedia is pausing the release of its feature film The Batman in Russia. We will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves. We hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to this tragedy.”
Disney was the first studio to take such a stance in Russia, saying, “we will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation. 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.”
Turning Red was set to release in Russia March 10th, a day before it’s released domestically, where it will be available on Disney+. Many international markets will be getting only a theatrical release. After this, Disney’s next theatrical release is in May when Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness debuts.
Other upcoming Warner Bros. releases include Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (April 14th) and DC League of Super-Pets (May 19th). There’s no word on whether these will be withheld as well.
While this move will cost the studios some money, it might not make a huge dent in the studios’ box office receipts: according to Variety the amount tallied in Russia is usually only a small percentage of what a film grosses globally. For example, Spider-Man: No Way Home was a massive hit there, grossing about $45 million, but that was only a fraction of the film’s total international gross to date, which is almost $1.1 billion.
Paramount Pictures is also standing with its studio brethren, announcing Tuesday that they would be pulling their upcoming releases.
“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,” Paramount said in a statement.