Russian cinemas screen premiere films such as Bat-man downloaded from BitTorrent networks. This is the largest recorded sample of massive and public piracy.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, and with it all the horrors of any war, numbering the dead, wounded and refugees. The geopolitical and financial consequences that the whole world is experiencing are also significant. Dozens of countries have joined forces to defend Ukraine imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia. from the severe constraints on his banking system to those that come with cutting off Russia’s gas and oil taps as a measure that – allegedly – will be final for Putin to stop the invasion and bet on negotiations.

There were also sanctions in the multimedia entertainment section. Most major US and European companies have suspended their business in Russia, such as Netflix, HBO or Spotify, while Hollywood Paramount, Disney, Warner Bros. and Sony have announced the suspension of new films.

Russian cinema in trouble

Following this unprecedented suspension, it represents the Russian Cinema Owners Association 700 cinemas and 2,600 halls throughout the countryissued a statement indicating a certain probability of the collapse of the Russian film industry, since «the quantity and quality of Russian films shown to the public does not meet the overall demand for cinema content ». Except, the release of some Russian films has also been delayed or canceled, despite receiving state support for production.

With losses forecasting more than 80% of sales, many theaters have taken drastic measures to get people back in their seats. In mid-April, several social media channels suggested that Russian cinemas return to showing great Hollywood films, from major premieres such as The Batman (Warner Bros.), Don’t Look Up (Netflix) and I’m Blushing (Pixar). ).

Just a few days later, the screening began. On April 21, The Batman was screened at a special event at the WIP Center for Contemporary Art in Moscow. Tickets cost around 500 rubles ($ 7) and the screening organizers framed as “artistic performance with commentary” about the departure of Hollywood from the Russian market.

The source of the film was, of course, unofficial. Pirated copy, accompanied by Russian dubbing, was downloaded from the torrent. From the same or a similar source, other Russian cinemas were shown in other small cinemas for a fee and free of charge.

From Hollywood they shouted to heaven: “An illegal public demonstration of pirated or rather stolen copies of films in cinemas is taking the Russian film business out of the legal arena and taking us back to the dark days of illegal business in the 1990s.”.

Although there have been no changes in the Russian copyright law that allow piracy, the Association claims that unlicensed screenings violate both civil and criminal law. LMassive piracy is firmly back on the public agenda and Western societies do not seem to be able to do much about it. Many Russian social media contributions support piracy and argue that if Western film companies did not withdraw, there would be no need for illegal screenings.

It is not clear how this will be resolved without stopping the invasion of Ukraine we are betting on. The issue of entertainment is another involved in a war that should never have happened. Over | TorrentFreak