One of the largest American film studios, Lionsgate, is going to release its new film Ballerina (a spin-off of the popular John Wick franchise) on the Russian market on June 5, 2025 through the local distributor Atmosfera Kino.
As Variety writes, citing sources, the Lionsgate studio is ready to "move forward in Russia on a case-by-case basis" and explains this by the fact that "sentiment has changed."
"The move comes with hopes that the major studios will follow Lionsgate amid declining international box office revenues and anticipation that a Russia-Ukraine détente will be reached given that U.S. President Donald Trump has prioritized the matter in the early days of his second term," the publication notes.
The head of one of the major film studios called the return to Russia "inevitable", confirming to Variety that Russian film distribution companies have already sent requests to resume cooperation, but no discussions have yet taken place regarding specific films. "It seems like things are opening. I ran into a lot of Russian buyers on the street yesterday. So they’re here and ready to do business," said one of the famous film producers during the Cannes Film Festival, which is currently underway.
As we wrote earlier, in 2022, Hollywood studios announced en masse that they would immediately stop releasing new films in Russia. Among those who abandoned the Russian market were Paramount, Disney, Warner Bros., and Sony. In response, the Russian Association of Cinema Owners issued an appeal, where it spoke about the possible collapse of the entire film industry in the country.
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