With Ukrainian filmmakers demanding a blanket ban of Russian cinema in “all its dimensions”, European sales agents are facing tough moral and financial dilemmas about Russian titles on their slates.
Meanwhile, in Russia itself, industry observers are warning of potential box office “catastrophe” following Hollywood’s decision to stop releases of its tentpole movies in the Russian market. The Batman had been due to go out on over 2,000 screens in Russia this weekend but its release has been pulled by Warner Bros and exhibitors are scrambling to find titles with which to replace it.
Russian exhibitors received a further blow yesterday (Thursday) when Nickelodeon reportedly cancelled the Russian cinema release of its Paw Patrol kids cartoons when the DCPs were already in all the cinemas.
Many Western festivals are already boycotting Russian films, although both Cannes and Venice say they will still invite independent Russian filmmakers. And European funding agencies are freezing financing for Russian projects. Eurimages, the cultural support fund of the Council of Europe, is expected to make a decision over whether to expel Russia next week.
Dissident works made without Russian state support but often with backing from European financiers may now struggle for distribution and festival exposure.
“There will be undeniable damage to all Russian films with most, if not all of them, likely to be banned,” suggested one European sales agent. “We have to accept that right now, because there are many lives lost and being lost in Ukraine. The cause is the Russian invasion. It’s very straightforward. However, we should not forget about those filmmakers from Russia who weren’t afraid to speak out against the invasion and the war and those who were long opposing Putin’s regime.”
A spokesperson for Berlin-based M-Appeal, which has several recent Russian titles in its catalogue, has confirmed that sales on these titles is being suspended.
“We have decided to pause the sales work of our Russian films for the moment, and we can’t say what the future will look like for Russian films. At the same time, we don’t drop our Russian filmmakers who are now in a difficult situation and who are not in any way supportive of this war – it’s not their fault what’s happening right now. We hope people can see beyond nationalities and passports,” the spokesperson commented.
Others are continuing to represent and show Russian titles.
“At this very moment, our thoughts are with all of the innocent people, who are dying, suffering, and are in the constant fear for their loved ones. We condemn any form of conflict, violence, aggression or hatred. We hope for an immediate end,” said Juraj Barabbas, managing director of Budapest-based Luminescence. He also confirmed Luminescence would “not be suspending sales on Russian films”.
In the UK, Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov’s Petrov’s Flu, distributed by Sovereign, is still in some cinemas following its release in the middle of last month.
Empty cinema screens
In Russia itself, companies are having to tear up business plans which, before February 24 and the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, had still seemed viable.
Cinemas in the country are bracing for an immediate future without Hollywood tentpoles. Exhibitors have this week applied for further government support. School holidays are coming up and there will be no big US pictures to which to take the family, in a country where Hollywood films typically account for around 80% of overall box-office revenues.
Russia has been one of the fastest growing markets in the world with admissions which, pre-pandemic, were in excess of 200 million a year. In 2021, Russia was ranked sixth worldwide in the top 10 countries for annual box office, and had been making a strong post-Covid recovery. That growth, however, is now under threat.
“Generally, the situation is catastrophic,” said Roman Isaev, general manager for Russia and CIS at Comscore. “There are now two discussed scenarios in the industry. One is for a two-month boycott of Hollywood toward Russia and the Russian industry. That means somewhere in May we may resume getting movies from Hollywood which is a bad result in terms of financial results but is do-able.
“Another scenario foresees a six-month [boycott] of Hollywood movies here in Russia which will kill most of the cinemas unfortunately.”
He pointed to the risk of permanently losing the Russian theatrical audience. “Some of them don’t want to go the cinema, maybe for a long period of time, and some of them are going to the pirate resources… All the huge results that we have achieved over the past years in fighting piracy here in Russia and internationally, unfortunately may got to the trash bin.”
In the short terms, exhibitors are looking to re-release recent and older Russian hit movies. However, most of these titles are already available to stream and it’s unclear whether audiences will want to see them again on the big screen.
These include re-issues of Horse Julius On The Throne And The Three Warriors, and several films from Central Partnership, among them basketball hit Three Seconds, chess movie Champion Of The World and hit comedy Son Of A Rich.
Independent Russian distributors are continuing to release new international titles including US indie titles. “At the moment, we have no legal restriction for this,” said Nadezda Motina, head of nascent Moscow-based distributor Arna Media. “We just need to wait to see how this political situation will develop because we have all kinds of potential scenarios which before February 24 would have looked absolutely unreal. [Now], we do not know anything.”
During March, Arna still plans to release Oliver Stone’s JFK Revisited: Through The Looking Glass and Maigret starring Gerard Depardieu as well as to re-release Paris, I Love You.
However, the ongoing sanctions will mean Russian distributors cannot make payments to rights holders in order to acquire films – and so the pipeline of new films may soon dry up. Some companies are reportedly trying to open accounts in Chinese banks to get around the sanctions.
Uncertainty prevails
The Russian cinema sector has experienced huge upheaval before. One industry veteran pointed to the time when buyers travelled to Cannes with “cash in bags” in order to strike under the table deals for new movies at a time in the late 1990s when the rouble was in free fall.
There are also reports of security crackdowns within Russia that could impact the industry operating in the country.
“The situation in Moscow is very tough and dangerous now. We are close to military dictatorship and civil war. In [a] few days we plan to leave the country if it still will be possible,” said one independent Russian director.
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