The Ukraine incursion is harming Russia both domestically and militarily.
While Russia's banking, sports, and news industries have already been affected by sanctions, refusals to participate, and cyber warfare that has brought down countless sites, the country's entertainment industry is beginning to feel the impact.
The Russians have already been barred from competing in Eurovision. Green Day canceled a planned May 29 stadium event in Spartak Stadium in Moscow today. They join pop group AJR, who has canceled an October engagement in Mosow.
This year, many Western performers will be performing in Russia. Among them are Tricky, Bring Me the Horizon, Khalid, OneRepublic, Yungblud, Judas Priest, and OneRepublic.
The conflict in Europe is also expected to impact film and television production in Eastern Europe and Russia in the coming months. Ukraine’s burgeoning film production business has obviously been derailed by the Russian invasion.
The fate of existing content is less certain and so far, appears to be largely unaffected by the Ukraine invasion.
Russia is the fourth-largest film market in the world, with an estimated 90 million tickets sold in 2020, according to Statista.com. Russia also distributed 66 films for distribution to foreign audiences in 2020, down from the 2019 total of 94 because of the pandemic.
So far, there has been no movement to ban imports of US films to Russia. This week, that nation’s moviegoers can watch the local premieres of the MGM/United Artist film Dog and the Liam Neeson thriller Blacklight.
Warner Bros. The Batman is still set for a March 2 premiere, two days before it opens in the US. Disney/Pixar’s Turning Red is also playing in Russian theaters.
Parmount is also is bringing its 50th anniversary re-release of The Godfather to Russia.
Last year, eight of the top 10 grossing films were from Hollywood, with Sony Pictures’“Venom: Let There Be Carnage the top title.
