- Category
- Latest news
No Avatar 3 This Winter: Russian Cinemas Halt Foreign Films During New Year Holiday
- Authors
![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Foreign films will not be shown in Russian cinemas from major chains during the upcoming New Year holidays, as reported by Russian telegram channel Grozа, citing the industry publication Cinemaplex.
The publication notes that the “alternative screenings” of foreign films and animations, including Avatar 3, Zootopia 2, and other Western titles, will be paused during the January holidays.
Every article pushes back against disinformation. Your support keeps our team in the field.
This pertains to unofficial screenings of Western content, the legal distribution of which has been partially curbed in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine and the exit of Hollywood studios from the country.
This concerns unofficial screenings of Western films in Russia, where legal distribution has been partially restricted since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the withdrawal of Hollywood studios. At the same time, French studios continue to sell films to Russian distributors.
According to The Moscow Times on December 11, Cinemaplex reported on Thursday afternoon that the Cinema Owners Association plans to halt screenings of foreign films during the New Year period, instead showcasing only officially released Russian films. It was indicated that Western films and animations would return to major networks on January 15.
However, the publication later updated its report, now only mentioning Avatar 3: Flame and Ashes, which had been originally set for release on December 25.
Following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Hollywood studios began leaving Russia in large numbers. Nevertheless, Western films quickly began circulating illegally in cinemas to recover the lost revenue from the absence of foreign productions.
As reported by The Moscow Times, to achieve this, cinemas began reintroducing the so-called “pre-screening service”—the practice of showing Western blockbusters alongside Russian short films.
Earlier, the Russian film studio Mosfilm and various state museums in the Leningrad region were secretly providing the Russian military with drones, electronic warfare equipment, and Starlink terminals, all while officially labeling these shipments as “humanitarian aid.”
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
