“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,” Warner Bros said.
Sony Pictures followed suit later, announcing it would also pause theatrical releases of its productions in Russia. “Given the ongoing military action in Ukraine and the resulting uncertainty and humanitarian crisis unfolding in that region, we will be pausing our planned theatrical releases in Russia, including the upcoming release of Morbius,” a Sony Pictures spokesperson said.
The Russian release of a new ‘Batman’ movie, which stars Robert Pattinson, was scheduled for 2 March 2022 while ‘Morbius’, starring Jared Leto, was scheduled for 24 March 2022.
The news comes as Netflix confirmed it would refuse to broadcast twenty Russian federal channels owing to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.