Los Angeles:Sony, Disney and Warner Bros have called off their upcoming releases in Russia following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine that has so far seen close to 250 civilian deaths, including over a dozen children. According to Disney, all theatrical releases in Russia, including upcoming Pixar film’s “Turning Red”, have been paused due to “unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the tragic humanitarian crisis”. It said in a statement on Monday, “We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation. “In the meantime, given the scale of the emerging refugee crisis, we are working with our NGO partners to provide urgent aid and other humanitarian assistance.” Warner Bros has withdrawn its superhero film “The Batman”. The other movies that were to be released were “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” and “DC League of Super-Pets”. “In light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, WarnerMedia is pausing the release of its feature film ‘The Batman’ in Russia. We will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves. We hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to this tragedy,” it added. Sony Pictures too, announced that it will stop all its theatrical releases in Russia, including ‘Morbius’. OTT giant Netflix has said it will not comply with new Russian rules to carry 20 state-backed channels. According to The Guardian, the new Russian law requires streaming services with more than 100,000 daily users to carry 20 major Russian federal television channels, many of which broadcast Kremlin propaganda. “Given the current situation we have no plans to add these channels to our service,” Hollywood Reporter quoted a Netflix spokesperson as saying. During the weekend, the Ukrainian Film Academy has created an online petition calling for an international boycott of Russian cinema and Russian film industry. UNI RNJ ING
