What boycott? Avatar 2 hits theaters in Russia thanks to piracy


Avatar: The Way of Water was not officially released in Russia, but cinemas in the country have obtained a pirated copy and are showing the film in theaters without a license.

Credit: 20th Century

Avatar: The Way of Water has been a hit in cinemas since its release on December 14, 2022. The second opus in James Cameron’s saga could well beat a few attendance and revenue records if it continues on this path, but cannot count on the Russian market to achieve its objectives.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the major American film studios have decided not to release their films in Russian theaters, a decision that has seriously damaged cinema operators in the country, and which could even destroy the Russian film industry, according to the association of cinema owners.

Avatar 2 hacked in Russia

But some cinemas have decided to circumvent the restrictions by resorting to piracy, and offer screeningsAvatar: The Way of Water to the spectators. The film is indeed illegally distributed on certain download or torrent platforms in Digital Cinema Packages (DCP) format, which is therefore suitable for theatrical projection, as well as decked out with subtitles in Russian.

Some cinemas have even managed to obtain high quality copies of the feature film, by obtaining supplies from neighboring and allied countries such as Kazakhstan. Several large groups are currently refusing to broadcast Avatar 2 in this way, and have even committed by agreement not to broadcast the film in their theaters at least until January 13, 2022.

In the meantime, operators are pressuring the Russian government for a solution. A proposed law could soon allow cinemas to show unlicensed films without fear of legal repercussions.

Another solution found by some cinemas was to offer the free screening of Avatar 2 as a preview of a 17-minute Russian short film. If they are caught by justice, they will be able to argue that they did not earn money thanks to the illicit distribution of the film, since the spectators paid in theory for another work.

Source: TorrentFreak



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