Ukraine war
Movie night with pirated copies: In Russia, cinemas download their blockbusters illegally
The film “The Batman” is apparently a blockbuster in Russia – although it shouldn’t actually be there.
© Warner Brothers / PR
Due to the invasion of Ukraine, numerous film studios have withdrawn from Russia. Nevertheless, Russian cinemas show cutting-edge films. According to reports, these are apparently black copies from the Internet.
Disney, Paramount, Warner, Sony, Netflix: In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the major film studios have withdrawn from Russia. This not only affects the availability of streaming services and content for the couch cinema, but also poses problems for large movie theaters. The online magazine “Torrentfreak” and the “New York Times” are now reporting that their operators are therefore resorting to piracy – and showing films illegally.
But nobody really wants to know who is responsible for this. For example, a statement from the Russian cinema operator “Grinvich” officially states that the films are not shown themselves, but that several halls have been rented to an external provider. Curious: You can get the tickets directly via the cinema’s website.
Classic file sharing is making a comeback
The films with a Russian soundtrack apparently come from so-called torrents. Downloading using this technology is considered extremely insecure by experts, since it involves collaborative file sharing, i.e. the direct exchange of data between people. It is not particularly complicated to read the IP of the other party, which in turn enables the identification of the connection owner. Translated: Anyone who downloads something there can be found.
In Russia, however, this is probably not a problem at the moment, because the government is looking in the other direction, an organizer of an illegal film evening told the New York Times. “Two months ago that would have been impossible,” he explained. It continued: “Now you can download a film through torrent, sell tickets, and then what happens? There are no consequences.”
Operators fear collapse of the industry
Why cinemas and organizers resort to illegal copies becomes clear when you read the statement by the Russian Association of Cinema Owners, which the merger of more than 700 cinemas published at the end of April as the film studios withdrew. It stated that the collapse of the entire film industry was imminent.
Because “unfortunately, the quantity and quality of Russian films cannot cover the entire demand for content from cinemas,” it says. The association forecast an 80 percent drop in sales and turned to the Ministry of Culture for help with the lost revenue.
As “Torrentfreak” reports, the owners’ association sees itself transported back to the times of the Soviet Union, where films from the West were only available if a roll of film or a VHS cassette had made it through the Iron Curtain. Without passing judgment on the illegal film nights, the association reminds that unlicensed screenings violate both civil and criminal law – because officially Russia has not yet changed the law in the spirit of piracy.
“The Batman”, the animated film “Turning Red” and the Netflix production “Don’t Look Up” are apparently particularly popular in Russia at the moment.
source: torrent geek, New York Times, Cinemaowner.ru