👮♂️ Lawmakers Seek Law Enforcement Action Against Underground Film Screenings
A State Duma deputy has called for stricter measures against movie theaters screening unauthorized Hollywood releases through the "pre-show entertainment" loophole.
Elena Drapeko, Deputy Chair of the State Duma Committee on Culture, declared that the Ministry of Internal Affairs must step in to crack down on shadow screenings, categorizing such activity as illegal business practices.
The sharp response was sparked by massive box office totals for unapproved foreign blockbusters. Market experts estimate that Spider-Man: Brand New Day generated nearly 900 million rubles during its first weekend of bootleg distribution in Russia. Tracking these figures through the state-run UAIS system is only possible indirectly—by observing abnormal earnings for official Russian short films used as covers for Hollywood titles. Notably, box office revenues for the domestic short Farewell, which served as a front for screenings of Spider-Man and The Odyssey, have already surpassed 1 billion rubles.
The lawmaker proposes that the Ministry of Culture forward data on bootleg screenings collected by its agencies directly to law enforcement. Under current legislation, criminal liability for unapproved screening without a distribution certificate (Article 146 of the Russian Criminal Code, “Copyright and Related Rights Infringement”) applies when damages exceed 500,000 rubles. In practice, however, most venues face only administrative fines or civil lawsuits.
Drapeko’s statement signals a potential shift toward heightened regulatory pressure on cinema chains that rely on the pre-show format to keep their businesses afloat.
Source: NSN
