Yuri Loza, a singer who has publicly supported Flat Earth ideas, claimed on the radio that actress Yulia Peresild did not travel to space to shoot the film Challenge. He argued against the spherical Earth model and asserted that international agreements prohibit journeys to a supposed edge of the world, insisting Peresild never flew to space.
Earlier reports noted that the drama The Challenge, directed by Klim Shipenko, earned more than two billion rubles at the Russian box office. As of August 7, its total stood at 2,000,902,443 rubles.
The film The Challenge opened on April 20 and surpassed the one billion ruble mark within two weeks. Moscow premiere screenings began on April 12, coinciding with Cosmonautics Day, marking the project as the first feature film to include partial filming in space.
Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko spent 12 days aboard the International Space Station to shoot sequences portraying a thoracic surgeon performing complex procedures under spaceflight conditions, a storyline focused on the protagonist’s mission and the challenges it imposes.
On June 9, Peresild, Shipenko, and Channel One General Manager Konstantin Ernst were honored with the 2022 State Prize for Literature and Art for their work on the film.
Earlier reports also highlighted that Barbie had grossed one billion dollars at the global box office within just 17 days, a milestone cited as part of the broader conversation about international cinema success in the same period.