The Russian movie industry took a big hit after Western moviemakers halted film releases over the conflict in Ukraine.
In an effort to assuage the impact, the Russian parliament is working on legislation that would allow cinemas to show Hollywood movies without the consent of copyright owners in a move to beat a boycott of the country by Western film production giants.
The legislation on compulsory licensing of Western copyright products would permit cinemas to show new Hollywood blockbusters, Anton Gorelkin, the deputy head of the State Duma committee on information policy, said on Monday.
The legal initiative, which has been the subject of discussion for some time, would allow the use of digital content such as films, music and software without the permission of copyright holders from countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia.
In March, Disney, Warner Bros, Sony, Paramount and Universal Pictures vowed to keep upcoming films out of Russian theaters in response to the country’s military operation in Ukraine.
The decision to pull content from the Russian market prompted theaters to develop a scheme enabling them to circumvent the ban and offset losses arising from canceled Western releases. This involved a so-called “pre-screening service” by which tickets are sold for one film, but a Hollywood blockbuster is shown before it for free.
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