Russia’s culture minister has postponed a major feature that was originally scheduled to premiere on the same day as a Russian film he had reportedly inspired, making it the latest foreign movie to be pushed back over the past month.
The premiere of Walt Disney Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” was rescheduled from May 3 to May 11 in Russia, The Walt Disney Company said in a statement cited by Interfax on Tuesday. May 3 is listed as the premiere date for a Russian movie reportedly inspired by Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky about a World War II concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.
The delay follows a similar move by the ministry last month, when it held off issuing a distribution license for the British family comedy “Paddington 2” from mid-January to February.
Days after the “Paddington 2” delay, Russia’s Culture Ministry withdrew the screening license of the satirical film “The Death of Stalin” over ideological concerns, sparking accusations of censorship from Russia’s film industry figures.
Russia’s The New Times news magazine reported recently that Medinsky could be replaced after the March 18 presidential elections, which President Vladimir Putin is all but certain to win.
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