Disney “Pauses” Theatrical Releases From Russia Following Ukraine Invasion

Movies

Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Disney has decided to temporarily pull their theatrical films from Russian cinemas. This includes the upcoming Turning Red, which is receiving the straight-to-streaming treatment stateside. While other studios work to decide how to handle the precarious situation, Disney has made the first move to temporarily withdraw their content. Since this was first reported, Warner Bros. has also pulled their Russian release of The Batman. Disney issued a statement Monday afternoon alongside their decision: 

“Given the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the tragic humanitarian crisis, we are pausing the release of theatrical films in Russia, including the upcoming Turning Red from Pixar. 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 to refugees.”

The MPA also made a comment on the invasion: 

“The Motion Picture Association stands with the international community in upholding the rule of law and condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On behalf of our member companies, who lead the film, TV and streaming industry, we express our strongest support for Ukraine’s vibrant creative community who, like all people, deserve to live and work peacefully.

“We will continue to monitor the situation, working closely with our members and partners throughout the global creative sector.”

I have to admit I’m actually surprised. Disney has shown time and again that they only care about the bottom line, not morality or human lives. It’s a big step to be the first major Hollywood movie studio to take such a stance, and I didn’t think they had it in them. This doesn’t make up for everything, and I’m sure this massive corporation has someone crunching numbers who decided this was a good PR move. But ultimately, regardless of the cynical reasoning behind it, it was the right move. Warner Bros. is also sure to lose some money in pulling The Batman from this market, so it’s admirable they did it anyway. I’m not sure how much good it will do in a practical sense. I’m sure Putin and his cronies foresaw this possibility and decided overtaking a nation was worth losing some business. Hopefully, this conflict can end as bloodlessly as possible and with the Russians back in their own country.