🎦 Russian Film Distribution Facing a Wave of Consolidation
The Cinema Owners Association (AVK) predicts that domestic theater chains will gradually phase out alternative and pre-show screening practices over the next two to three months.
According to AVK head Alexey Voronkov, even under an optimistic scenario involving a resumed dialogue with Hollywood studios, authorized releases of global blockbusters—such as Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday—will not hit Russian screens before April 1, 2027.
Unofficial screenings of foreign releases have served as a primary pillar of financial stability for the theatrical sector during the summer season. Notably, August box office revenues reached 4.4 billion rubles, doubling the figures from the previous year. Industry analysts estimate that a substantial portion of this total was generated by unlicensed screenings of Spider-Man: Brand New Day (up to 1 billion rubles during its opening weekend) and The Odyssey (approximately 1.5 billion rubles).
Industry experts and representatives from BK Media warn that a strict crackdown on gray-market schemes, in the absence of equivalent replacement content, poses severe risks to physical film distribution. Rifat Fazlyev, Editor-in-Chief of Cinemaplex, notes that the current slate of domestic films fails to satisfy audience demand for genre diversity—the market faces a critical shortage of quality sci-fi, thrillers, action films, and horror.
As box office revenues decline, independent and regional theaters lacking the financial cushion of major chains will be forced to choose between closing down or selling their business. This dynamic will inevitably lead to market consolidation, redistributing market share in favor of the country’s largest cinema chains.
Source: Kommersant
