Following Disney's decision to pull the theatrical release of Pixar's Turning Red in Russia earlier today, Warner Bros. has finally decided to pause its release of The Batman amid the country's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The Robert Pattinson-starrer was originally slated to open there on March 3.
In a statement, the studio said, “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.”
Shortly thereafter, Sony decided to pause the release of its entire slate, including their upcoming Jared Leto-fronted Marvel superhero blockbuster Morbius. A studio representative stated, “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. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been impacted and hope this crisis will be resolved quickly.”
In addition to Turning Red, it's probably safe to assume that neither Cheaper by the Dozen nor Deep Water will be granted a release in Russia, although that's slightly easier to do since neither Disney+ nor Hulu are available in the country. However, the bigger question is whether Disney will sustain the ban into May when Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is due out in theaters across the globe.
While superhero movies have proven to be quite popular in Russia, with Marvel/Sony's Spider-Man: No Way Home recently grossing over $45 million, these new developments were understandably inevitable due to current events.
“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.,” said Disney in their official statement.