Following the footsteps of Disney, Warner Bros. and Sony officially halted the release of their highly anticipated films The Batman and Morbius for now in Russia, over the country's invasion of Ukraine.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. has pulled The Batman from its Russian release and the decision comes as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine. Sony followed within the hour with its own announcement that it won't release Morbius in Russia next month.
"In light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, WarnerMedia is pausing the release of its feature film The Batman in Russia," a WarnerMedia spokesperson said in a statement, as per THR. "We will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves. We hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to this tragedy."
The statement came roughly an hour after Disney announced that it would be pulling all theatrical releases from Russia until further notice, including the Pixar's Turning Red, which was slated to open on March 10 in Russia. Warner Bros.' highly anticipated film, starring Robert Pattinson, was supposed to be released on March 3.
Shortly after, Sony followed with its own announcement that it would halt the release of Jared Leto's Morbius amid the invasion, which was due on March 24 in the country. "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," a Sony Pictures Entertainment spokesperson said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been impacted and hope this crisis will be resolved quickly."
On March 1, after Disney, Warner Bros. and Sony pulled their major film releases, Paramount Studios also paused its upcoming Russia releases, including Sonic 2 and The Lost City.
Also Read: CBFC removes words like 'Son of a b***h', 'D***bag', 'F*****g', etc at 12 places in The Batman; passes Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Jhund with ZERO cuts
