Film industry in Russia - statistics & facts

Russian movie production started in the Russian Empire and steadily developed during the Soviet period. Modern Russian cinema has been evolving since the 2010s, seeing an increase in governmental support and the popularity of state-sponsored and independent works among audiences. Russia used to be one of the largest film markets worldwide before 2022, when major international film distributors, such as Disney, Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures, halted their operations in the country in response to the war in Ukraine. As a result, Russia's gross box office revenue lost 42 percent.

Russian films increased their presence in cinemas abroad in recent years, even though the number of movies distributed internationally decreased in 2020.

Impact of the war in Ukraine on the Russian film industry

Movie theaters across Russia faced a shortage of new releases and started re-releasing older Russian and Soviet movies. The number of open cinema screens fell by seven percent between March and April 2022. The exodus of Western distributors has led to an increase in illegal movie streaming and downloads. At the same time, cinemas were expected to screen more films from other regions, such as Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The country's Association of Theater Owners appealed to the government to provide financial support to the industry.

COVID-19 impact on cinemas in Russia

In late March 2020, the Russian government closed movie theaters and other cultural establishments to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Thus, cinemas saw a sharp decline in attendance, while film producers had to suspend their projects at the time. In total, the country's gross box office fell by 59 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year. While the figures sharply increased in 2021, they were still below pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, video-on-demand (VOD) platforms have seen a rise since the spring of 2020. The segment of video streaming (SVOD) recorded a 63 percent growth in 2021 compared to 2020 and was triple of the 2019 revenue.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Dec 21, 2023

Key insights

Gross box office in Russia
23.7bn RUB
Number of cinema tickets sold in Russia
145m
Share of Russian 18-to-30-year-olds that went to the cinema over the past year
52%
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Gross box office revenue in Russia from 2016 to 2022 (in billion Russian rubles)

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Gross box office revenue in Russia 2016-2022

Most successful films in modern Russian cinematography released between 2004 and 2023, by box office revenue (in billion Russian rubles)

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Box office revenue of most successful Russian movies 2004-2023

Leading cinema chains in Russia as of July 1, 2023, by number of screens

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Leading cinema chains in Russia by number of screens 2023

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