Avatar: The Way of Waterofficially premieres today in most parts of the world. However, over in the Russian Federation, the versions of James Cameron’s visual masterpiece that are likely to be screened are pirated copies of an unknown origin.
For Russian moviegoers, the move will hardly come as a surprise, butAvatar’s status as the biggest movie coming out at the tail-end of 2022 has certainly brought attention to a larger issue that’s become quite the talking point in the local cinema industry. Due to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, many film studios put a halt to their operations in Russia this year, all but killing regular distribution channels for movies in the country and creating a market for illegal copies that local theaters have bought ever since.
Related:Avatar: The Way of Water Review
As Russian news outletIzvestianotes in an in-depth report, when it comes toAvatar: The Way of Water, it’s not a case of whether the pirated film will screen in Russia but a matter of when and where. The report cites the example ofBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, which premiered on the same day it did in other parts of the world.Similar to popular anime on streaming, these pirated copies are also not the average day-one camcorder footage, as the prices Russian cinemas pay for them varies a lot depending on the quality of the movie, with Izvestia reporting a Russian-dubbed pristine perfect version that abides by Russian censorship rules can fetch about $15,000 from a big theater chain in the black market.
Russian authorities are still fining movie theaters for screening unauthorized copies of films lacking official distribution certificates. Still, profits continue to easily outweigh such sanctions as long as the source for the pirated content remains untouched. As of now, the only topic up for debate among the Russian Association of Cinema Owners is timingAvatar: The Way of Water’srelease to avoid it clashing with the local family-friendly animated filmCheburashka, to guarantee more screenings and a healthier box office for local filmmakers.
Suffice it to say, people in Russia have not missed out on any of 2022’s blockbusters likeDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,Jurassic World Dominion,Red Notice, andThor: Love and Thunder.Instead, they’re just getting bootleg copies of very high quality.Avatar: The Way of Watereven convinced Chinato relax the country’s own harsh limits on cultural imports, especially over the past couple of years, as the firstAvatarwas huge among the Chinese.
All things considered,Avatar: The Way of Wateris the latest example of how the Ukraine war has shaped the economy of a country now closed off from many aspects of global trade, video games included, as evenRussia was cut from EA’sFIFAandNHLearlier this year.
