June 5, 2024

What Does Russia’s Film & TV Industry Look Like Since the War?

COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have significantly hurt the country’s film and TV industry. By: Kritchanon Tan Kian Wei

Russia - Prior to 2022, American media made up around 70% of box office performance in Russia. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 led many major studios like Paramount, Disney and Warner Bros. to pull out of Russia, significantly hurting the film and TV business in the region, reversing years of industry growth that had already been slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, piracy runs rampant in the region, while propaganda is a common sight in locally-produced film and TV. 

With local movie theatres struggling due to the pandemic and the spillover effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many theatres have started screening pirated foreign films, with other parties booking a private screening at these theatres to screen such films, thereby absolving the theatres of responsibility for what is screened. Movie theatres have also had to let go of employees and rent out their rooms for other purposes, as well as screen other types of content like sports games.

Meanwhile, citizens of Russia who are more technologically literate have also turned to VPNs and torrents as a means to access foreign content in Russia, though many Russians, particularly the older generation and those living in more rural areas, are stuck with traditional media platforms like over-the-air television, which has been broadcasting propaganda about the war on Ukraine. With a significant amount of media funding coming from the Russian government, and a lack of officially available foreign content, more and more content produced in the region has had pro-Russia messages and censorship, as producing other kinds of media become less viable business-wise.

Streaming services have not been hit as hard, despite Netflix leaving the country in early 2022. The lack of new foreign titles in movie theatres have prompted many Russians to subscribe to streaming services, while some services still retain the rights to provide foreign titles despite the Russia and Ukraine conflict. Though these licenses will eventually expire and are unlikely to be renewed, there technically still is new foreign content available in the region, as Amediateka, home to HBO in Russia, announced that its shows, like Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon, will continue to air in the region, at least until an undisclosed date when their contract expires. However, the overall trend is that streaming services are slowly but surely losing foreign content availability.

The film and TV industry in Russia has certainly declined ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Though streaming numbers have increased, ticket sales have decreased and Russian content has been banned from numerous festivals and events from around the world, and with the Russian government having more urgent matters to attend to than the dying local film and TV industry, one can’t help but wonder what the industry will look like in 5 or 10 years from now. Though the media will certainly remain in Russia, the future of the industry does not look bright.

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