The film Avatar 2 arouses the curiosity of spectators around the world. In Russia, where Hollywood blockbusters are no longer available, the resourceful method prevails.
Avatar 2: The Way of the Water, has become in just 15 days the most seen film in cinemas in France, with 6.87 million admissions. James Cameron’s (very) feature film is such a phenomenon that it has caused Japanese cinemas to crash, since it requires a robust device for its projection. On the side of Russia, where the entertainment giants preferred to cease their activities because of the invasion of Ukraine, we manage to circumvent these sanctions to see the film.
Versions ofAvatar 2 shared using unlisted torrents
In Russia, the situation is clear: the latest big American films cannot be viewed there, since the Hollywood film industry has chosen to suspend its activities in the country, without putting itself in financial danger. But for the sector on the Russian side, it’s another story.
The effect of the sanctions on Russian cinemas is devastating. The local association of cinema owners even goes so far as to warn that the entire industry could cave in and collapse. So some cinemas decided to ignore the sanctions and use pirated films to attract viewers to their theaters.
These are converted into DCP (Digital Cinema Package), a digital file format specific to projection in cinemas. Many DCP releases come with a Russian dub. The specialized site Torrent Freak explains to us that the packages “ are sometimes shared between theaters using unlisted torrents “.
An essential bypass for the survival of many rooms
Pirate screenings are an absolute necessity for the Russian film industry today. The Russian Association of Cinema Owners doesn’t necessarily endorse the practice, but with no legal alternative available, they understand it. ” I can’t blame the cinemas now getting into torrent screenings “, insists the president of the organization, Alexei Voronkov.
Several Russian cinemas broadcast Avatar 2 for a few days, praising the ” high quality » DCP copies that would come from certain countries friendly to Russia, such as Kazakhstan. The cities of Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Krasnoyarsk hosted unauthorized screenings. It is unclear how theaters precisely receive these copies, although the hypothesis of unlisted torrent transfers remains strong.
Some major Russian cinema networks refuse to take part in these illegal screenings. In return, they must respect an agreement and keep the film away from their theaters until next January 13. In the meantime, real piracy does not weaken and comes to hinder this workaround adopted by Russian cinemas.
Source : Torrent Freak
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