Disney, which owns Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, is closing its distribution division in Russia. Most of the employees have already been fired, according to the Bulletin of the Film Distributor. The rest will be transferred to the main Disney office in Moscow to complete the work, after which Disney will cease operations in the country. Almost all communications in the CIS will be carried out through the American office of Disney.
On March 10, Disney announced the suspension of its Russian business across all industries. The week before, the company had announced that it would temporarily stop releasing its films in Russia. We are talking about stopping the broadcasting of TV channels owned by the company, the operation of cruise ships and tourist routes, the publication of the National Geographic magazine, as well as the production of its own content and licensing for local partners. In the case of licensing, we are most likely talking about new releases from the corporation itself and its subsidiaries.
March 1 Sony and Warner Bros. announced the refusal to distribute their films in Russia because of the war in Ukraine. As of the end of March, Disney is the leader among distributors in Russia. The company occupied 31.67% of the market.