Russian release for ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’, ‘The Lost City’ halted by Paramount

Washington [US], March 1 (ANI): Paramount Pictures has become the newest Hollywood studio to halt the theatrical release of its upcoming films in Russia following the country’s military operation in Ukraine last week.

According to Variety, a spokesperson for the studio, in a statement, said, “As we witness the ongoing tragedy in Ukraine, we have decided to pause the theatrical release of our upcoming films in Russia, including ‘The Lost City,’ and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2.'”They added, “We stand by all those impacted by the humanitarian crisis across Ukraine, Russia, and our international markets and will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds.”Similarly, earlier this week, Disney, Sony and Warner Bros had announced they will not allow new movies, such as ‘Turning Red’, ‘Morbius’, and ‘The Batman’, to play in Russian movie theatres “in light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.”For now, several Hollywood movies that have already been released in Russia, including Sony’s video game adaptation ‘Uncharted’ and Disney’s murder mystery ‘Death on the Nile’, will continue to play there.

Also on Monday, Netflix said it will not carry the 20 Russian free-to-air propaganda channels that the streamer could be required to host under Russian law.

Like Paramount, which said it “will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds,” other studios have shared intentions to keep a watchful eye on “the evolving situation,” as per Variety (ANI)