Shadow Movie Screenings in Russia Face Shutdown

The practice of “pre-screening service” in Russia is nearing its end, according to Alexei Voronkov, head of the Association of Cinema Owners.

At present, there are no plans to release ‘The Avengers’ or ‘Dune 3’ in Russia this December, January, or even by March 2027, regardless of the domestic film schedule. Since no distributor has officially stepped forward, discussing release delays is pointless. We anticipate that the practice of shadow pre-screening will be completely phased out within the next two to three months. Even if negotiations with Hollywood studios are successful, these films could not hit Russian screens before April 1, 2027,

— Voronkov stated in an interview with NSN.

Following the departure of major Hollywood studios in March 2022, unauthorized screenings became a staple of the Russian cinema landscape. The most recent commercial successes in this category, ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’ and ‘The Odyssey,’ grossed a combined total exceeding 2 billion rubles.

Previously, presidential advisor Elena Yampolskaya called for an end to these illicit showings. She argues that the screened content poses a “danger” and may contain “defamatory” material. According to data from ‘BK Media’, pirated content accounted for 11.6% of the Russian box office during the first half of 2026.

Source: Film.ru