Russia Reportedly Legalizing Pirated Copies of Avatar: The Way of Water Because Hollywood Won’t Let James Cameron Release It in the Country

With the currently ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Disney decided to pull back the release of Avatar: The Way of Water in the country. In a decision that seems to be borderline morally improper, Russia reportedly decides to release the movie anyway.

By way of legalizing pirated copies of Avatar: The Way of Water, Russia seemingly will allow James Cameron’s magnum opus to run uninterrupted albeit being pirated.

Russia Will Reportedly Get To See Avatar: The Way of Water

With the current war ongoing, many countries and organizations have seemingly broken their agreements with Russia. One of the major companies that decided to end their companionship is Disney. The entertainment giant refused to allow the official screening of Avatar: The Way of Water to take place in Russia.

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With such pullbacks from the international market, several movie owners in Russia have no problem showcasing pirated movies on their screens. As per the reports by a Russian news outlet Izvestia, the European country will have pirated copies of the movie selling legally on their land. Several theaters are ready to pay a price ranging from $790 to $15,820 depending on the quality.

Other small-time owners are willing to showcase the camcorder recordings that will eventually be released illegally on the Internet once the movie is released. Russia also is in plans to “legalize” the selling of pirated copies soon with a little help from the Ministry of Culture.

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How Russia Plans to Legalize Piracy

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The Russian government does not regulate the multitude of movies that are shown in cinemas. Although unregulated, theaters require a distribution certificate before the screening of the movie. Russian cinema owners have to deal with Hollywood to require the certificate and are only allowed to screen the movie once it gets verified.

The Association of Cinema Owners is pushing ahead with an unbelievable bill that would not require them to deal with Hollywood for a distribution certificate. This would lead to Russian cinema owners’ freedom to show pirated movies on their theater screens without the hindrance of Hollywood at all. Whatever the case, Avatar: The Way of Water has been receiving fabulous reviews from critics all around the world who got to see an early screening of the movie.

The James Cameron-directed Avatar: The Way of Water is set for a release date of 16th December 2022 in theaters in the U.S. and across the world.

Source: The Direct