Disney Pausing Theatrical Releases In Russia Following Invasion Of Ukraine; ‘The Batman’ Still Opening Despite Economic Sanctions

A global pandemic which closed a majority of the world’s cinemas from 2020-21 just won’t keep large format exhibitor Imax down.

The Batman remains a hit.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterRobert Pattinson’s gritty superhero adventure “The Batman” is the No. 1 movie at the domestic box office for the third weekend in a row.That feat is not surprising because March has been relatively light in terms of new releases.

“The Batman” earns its third No. 1 weekend with $10 million grossed on Friday and an estimated $39 million weekend total.

Earlier this week, “The Batman” became just the fifth Hollywood film in the past year to gross over $500 million worldwide and should pass the $300 million domestic mark and $600 million global mark by the end of this weekend. While the new COVID-19 infection surge in China has closed over 25% of theaters in that country as “The Batman” opens there, the film is still on pace to surpass the theatrical runs of “F9” and “No Time to Die” and become only the second Hollywood film to gross over $800 million since the pandemic began.

Warner Bros/DC’s The Batman has winged its way past the half a billion dollar mark worldwide to become the fourth highest-grossing studio release of the pandemic era. The global total is $505.8M through Wednesday, and there’s still plenty of gas left in the Batmobile.

After two weeks in theaters, Warner Bros./DC’s “The Batman” has passed $500 million at the global box office, with more than half of that total coming from domestic theaters. On Wednesday, “The Batman” added $5.75 million domestically, bringing its total to $258.3 million in North America and $505.8 million worldwide.

This result signifies a weekend drop of just 51%, giving “The Batman” a better second weekend hold than any of the top 5 highest grossing films of 2021; and given the film’s ability to beat projections, that hold could improve further after Sunday actuals are reported. With this blistering pace, “The Batman” stays on track to reach $400 million in North America and potentially $1 billion worldwide, having already exceeded the domestic and global runs of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” as it joins “Spider-Man: No Way Home” as the only film in the past year to top $225 million domestic.

Ellise Shafer Two weeks after pausing the theatrical release of “Morbius” in Russia, Sony Pictures has announced that it is also halting all other business in the country following its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.This includes home entertainment releases, such as that of box office hit “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” and any television distribution deals. Crunchyroll has also suspended its anime streaming service in Russia.Below, read the full memo from chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra:“As we continue to see the devastating news and images coming out of Ukraine, I wanted to reach out with an update on how SPE is reacting to these events.

Sony Pictures is the latest company to pause its business operations in Russia in the wake of the Ukraine invasion. SPE’s Tony Vinciquerra informed staff of the decision in a memo Friday that was obtained by TheWrap, and the pause of business operations includes halting planned home entertainment releases of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and other future TV distribution deals.

A day after Disney announced it was suspending their business in Russia amid the Ukraine invasion, Sony Pictures Entertainment has made it effective that they too, are doing the same. This goes beyond the standard theatrical releases which both studios earlier halted.

A week after Disney paused the Russian theatrical releases in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, Disney said Thursday that is “taking steps to pause all other businesses in Russia” as the fighting intensifies.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefHollywood franchise movies “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania” and “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” have both secured April theatrical release dates in mainland China.“Transylvania” will open in Chinese cinemas on Sunday April 3, 2022, a couple of days ahead of the Qingming or Tomb Sweeping holiday on April 5. “Beasts” will open, more conventionally, on Friday, April 8.Sony missed out on a China release for “Spider Man: No Way Home,” which was the biggest film worldwide in 2021. But the confirmation represents the studio’s second Hollywood film this year to receive approval from the Chinese authorities (after “Uncharted,” set for March 14 ).

Paramount is the latest Hollywood studio to pull its upcoming movies, the Sandra Bullock-Channing Tatum-Brad Pitt romantic comedy adventure The Lost City and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, from Russia as the Ukraine invasion continues.

Disney is taking their own stand against Russia as the invasion of Ukraine continues.

J. Kim Murphy Warner Bros.

The Walt Disney Company is halting the release of its upcoming films in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. “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,” a spokesperson for The Walt Disney Company said in a statement Monday. “We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation.

Ellise Shafer The Walt Disney Company announced on Monday that they will be pausing all theatrical releases in Russia, including that of “Turning Red,” which premieres March 11.“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,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation.