Sony pulls Crunchyroll, Russian home entertainment releases

According to a report, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has suspended all operations in Russia, halting home entertainment releases such as Spider-Man: No Way Home and temporarily blocking access to its anime streaming service, Crunchyroll Variety. The move will also stop any TV distribution deals in the country.

"We stand with many businesses around the world who have now paused their business operations in Russia, and in support of the humanitarian efforts currently underway in Ukraine and the surrounding region," SPE CEO Tony Vinciquerra said in an email to employees seen by Variety. "We have also halted our planned home entertainment releases, including 'Spider-Man: No Way Home,' and any future television distribution deals. And just this morning, Crunchyroll suspended its anime streaming service in Russia."

Sony, which owns anime streaming service Funimation, bought Crunchyroll last August and later announced that it would merge the two services, a process that has already begun. As ComicBook.com noted, a translated message on Crunchyroll's Russian website says that it is "forced to suspend its work in Russia" and states that users will not be charged for their subscriptions while the service is shut down in the country. Funimation is no longer available in Russia.

Sony already pulled Morbius and other future theatrical releases from Russia last month, and Sony-owned PlayStation suspended all sales and shipments to the country earlier this week. In addition, Sony's music division announced that it would close its operations in Russia on Thursday.

In addition to Sony, entertainment giants spanning TV, movies and games have also sourced sales and services from Russia, including Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount, Universal, Netflix, and some major game companies.