The Russian office of film company Universal has updated its release schedule twice, for the first time since the beginning of March. The first pack is Warner Bros. He talked about his studio’s projects. Universal is its distributor in Russia since 2021.
The closest was the premiere of the cartoon, which was scheduled for July 28, about the dog Superman and his team “DC Super Pet League”.
Also, new dates have been given to the movie comics Black Adam, Shazam! 2″ – October 20 and December 22, respectively. Releases scheduled for next year include Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (March 16), The Flash (June 22), Meg 2 (August 3) and Willy Wonka (December 14).
As noted by Film Distributor Bulletin, Warner Bros. return to the Russian market; The company did not comment on this news. At the end of April, he is the head of international distribution for Warner Bros. Andrew Cripps admitted that he did not know when and under what conditions the studio could resume mobility activities in Russia. According to him, the company expects “some kind of solution to the situation” in Ukraine.
Universal has also updated its own project schedule.
Thus, the blockbuster Jurassic World: Dominance was moved from June 9 to June 16, and Jordan Peele’s horror movie No was moved from July 21 to August 11.
The changes also affected the cartoons “Puss in Boots 2: Last Wish” (December 22 instead of September 15) and “Super Mario Brothers” (December 22 – March 16, 2023). In addition to this, Universal has announced several new releases. Among them is the sports drama Creed 3, scheduled for release on December 1.
In parallel, Universal began to update the database of Russian cinemas. According to the UK, domestic partners received emails from the company with a request to provide up-to-date mailing addresses “to send correspondence” and “to update the database”. As the publication recalls, this happened several years ago – after the split of joint WDSSPR into independent divisions of Disney and Sony Pictures. Later, companies changed legal entities and made similar demands for cinemas.
In turn, the company “Central Partnership”, acting as the exclusive distributor of Paramount projects in Russia, removed the action movie “Top Gun: Maverick” with Tom Cruise from the broadcast program. Before that, the premiere of the tape was officially scheduled for May 26. Paramount, along with other majors, reduced its distribution activities in Russia in March.
In early May, Alexei Vasyasin, General Manager of United Network “Formula Kino/Cinema Park”, in a conversation with Interfax knowledgeableThe company’s revenue fell fourfold. This is characteristic of the entire industry. If the situation does not change, “the chain of cinemas could close half of its theaters, as the number of new Russian films with all the box office potential cannot meet the volume of films required for distribution.” On May 13, on the possible termination of the partnership with the mall owners of Formula Kino/Cinema Park It was learned that he had bargained.
Earlier, the Association of Cinema Owners (AVK) said that in the absence of foreign films and active government support, at least half of Russian cinemas could close by the summer, and the industry could be in danger of extinction. The organization estimates that the cumulative loss for 2022 will be at least 11.1 billion rubles.
Meanwhile, the theater box office in Russia fell by more than a third in April.
By counter “BK”, the cash for the month amounted to 1.372 billion rubles. This is 37% less than in March and almost 56% lower than in the same period last year.
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Russian online cinemas spoke Against extending the “mandatory license” to movies, TV shows, music and other content. The Internet Video Association (including ivi, Okko, Amediateka and Start) has sent relevant calls to the presidential administration, the Ministry of Culture and other departments. The proposal, criticized by video services, is to allow Russian licensees to obtain licenses through the courts if the foreign partner unilaterally terminates the contract in whole or in part.
As stated in the organization, such an attempt is against the current norms of international law and could cause market players to lose tens of billions of rubles. In particular, this may be due to possible sanctions in response to the use of content without the consent of the copyright holder – for example, if Russian services are disconnected from iOS, Android, Huawei platforms and smart TVs (currently used by the most users). 90% of users). The Association is confident that “every fact regarding the unlicensed use of the works can and will be used by foreign copyright holders against Russian commercial establishments”.
“According to the existing contracts of domestic video services with foreign partners, the status quo continues today. Under new agreements for the supply of new products, there was a chance to return to negotiations as the foreign policy situation stabilized. “The issue of temporary unavailability of some foreign content should not be resolved by changing the fundamental principles of copyright protection,” said Alexey Byrdin, CEO of the Internet Video Association.
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Apple began disabling the ability to pay by phone number for subscriptions and applications for customers of some mobile operators in Russia.
In the event that the function is completely turned off, it will become impossible to use streaming services, in particular, Apple Music and Apple TV + (now these are one of the few foreign platforms still available in Russia).
It is not known exactly what such measures are connected with, how and how long this situation can last. Previously, Sony disabled all payment methods in Russia and closed access to the PS Store online game store, but after a while it was possible to enter it from the console and find content through a search, and users were allowed to top up again. built-in wallet using gift codes (they are sold in markets with a large margin).
Until recently, it was possible to replenish the balance of the App Store and iTunes using the Qiwi service, but in early May the option was removed “due to the decision of the service provider” (this is not Apple itself). Qiwi described the issue as temporary, but did not provide any information about the timing of restoring functionality.
Source: Gazeta
Barbara Dickson is a seasoned writer for “Social Bites”. She keeps readers informed on the latest news and trends, providing in-depth coverage and analysis on a variety of topics.