Paramount announced Tuesday that it will hold back the Sandra Bullock/Channing Tatum adventure comedy “The Lost City” and the family film sequel “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” from Russia, the latest studio to pull new releases following the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
“As we witness the ongoing tragedy in Ukraine, we have decided to pause the theatrical release of our upcoming films in Russia, including ‘The Lost City,’ and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2.’ We stand by all those impacted by the humanitarian crisis across Ukraine, Russia, and our international markets and will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds,” Paramount said in a statement.
“The Lost City” opens domestically on March 25 and was meant to open in Russia in early April, and “Sonic” would’ve opened in Russia on March 31 followed by a domestic release on April 8.
The news follows three different studios announcing plans to withhold the release of their upcoming films in Russia, including Warner Bros. pausing the release of “The Batman,” Disney yanking the Pixar film “Turning Red” and Sony pulling “Morbius.” Netflix also made a statement Monday saying it would decline to carry state-run Russian TV channels on its streaming service despite a local law that would require any company with more than 100,000 subscribers to do so.
On Monday evening the Motion Picture Association likewise condemned the Russian attack. Hours earlier, FIFA and UEFA indefinitely banned Russian football teams from international play, including this year’s World Cup. And last Friday SAG-AFTRA also expressed support for Ukraine and condemnation of the invasion.
Paramount’s next major theatrical release would be “Top Gun: Maverick,” which opens in the U.S. on May 27.
