Sony Pictures Entertainment

Business in Russia

A former Sony Pictures salesperson in Russia has sued the country’s largest cinema chains, demanding payment for extended screenings of several Hollywood blockbusters in 2022. Arbitration records show that Content Club, formerly known as Sony Pictures Productions and Releasing (SPPR), which operated as Sony Pictures’ representative office in Russia until 2022, filed lawsuits earlier this month against about two dozen cinema chains, seeking a total of 1 billion rubles ($11 million), according to arbitration filings.

Decision trail

Decision date 13/08/2025 · Reference ↗

Sony Pictures Halts All Business in Russia, Including release of ‘Spider-Man'. Major studios such as Warner Bros., Disney and Sony Pictures are suspending their plans to release major 2022 films Batman, Chervonie and Morbius in Russian cinemas. Disney and Sony received £13.5m in payments from Russian joint venture after Ukraine invasion despite suspension of operations in the country. The Moscow-based company responsible for marketing and distributing films in Russia made by the two studios paid out £13.1m in dividends in March 2022, a month after Russia invaded Ukraine. An analysis of recently filed accounts shows a further £440,000 was paid between July and December 2023. The money was paid by Moscow-based Walt Disney Studios Sony Pictures Releasing (WDSSPR) to Eastern European Holdings (EEH), a joint venture between Disney and Sony’s London-based Columbia Pictures unit. In the spring of 2025, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced the end of screenings of its films in Russia.

Status history since 2022

1. 03/08/2026 — exited · Imported from KSE LeaveRussia

Exposure profile