Topline
Artists like Green Day and AJR, the Cannes Film Festival and all five major U.S. film studios have taken action against Russia in light of the country’s invasion into Ukraine—here’s how the entertainment industry is responding to the crisis:
A view of the carpet during "The Batman" World Premiere on March 01, 2022 in New York City.
Key Facts
A spokesperson for Universal Pictures told Deadline the company “has paused planned theatrical releases in Russia,” though they did not mention specific titles.
Paramount Pictures said Tuesday that The Lost City and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will not be released in Russia.
The Cannes Film Festival said Tuesday that “unless the war of assault ends in conditions that will satisfy the Ukrainian people,” Russian delegations or “anyone linked to the Russian government” would be barred from the May festival, according to Variety.
A spokesperson for The Killers told Billboard that the band will no longer be performing at the Park Live Festival in Moscow in July.
A spokesperson for WarnerMedia, which owns Warner Bros., said Monday that the release of The Batman will be halted in Russia, according to Variety.
Sony paused the theatrical release of its upcoming slate of films, including Morbius.
The Walt Disney Company said Monday it would pause film releases in Russia, including the upcoming premiere of Pixar’s Turning Red.
Louis Tomlinson posted Sunday that his upcoming shows in Moscow and Kyiv “are canceled until further notice.”
Green Day called off their May performance in Moscow on Sunday.
“Let’s Go Out With A Bang” band AJR canceled an upcoming performance in Russia on Friday and thanked fans in the country “who oppose their country’s unprovoked and criminal behavior.”
Tangent
The Russian box office brings in considerably less money than the U.S. market does. In 2021, the best week at the domestic box office earned roughly $451 million, and the best week at the Russian and Commonwealth of Independent States box office brought in roughly $20 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
Key Background
The corporate world is also taking action, with multinational companies like Meta, Visa and Adidas taking steps on Tuesday to limit their involvement with Russia. They joined a growing collection of businesses including Shell, Airbnb, Etsy who have supported Ukraine or distanced themselves from Russia earlier this week. The sports world is also severing ties. FIFA and the Union of European Football Association barred Russia’s national team from competing at the upcoming World Cup tournament Monday, and the National Hockey League, which has a significant amount of Russian players, said Monday it was pausing work with its Russian business partners and won’t host future competitions in the country.
Further Reading
@MarisaDellatto or reach out at mdellatto@forbes.com.
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