Russia Box Office: Disney Has Record Year in Rubles

The third quarter isn’t even over yet, but Walt Disney has already hit its best-ever box-office year in Russia in local currency terms.

The company’s releases have grossed 7.9 billion rubles ($120 million) by early September, a figure that is higher than the full-year haul for any previous year.

With four more months to go, Disney’s Russian box-office performance has handily surpassed last year’s figure of 7.3 billion rubles, the studio’s previous record in rubles.

The company’s biggest hits in Russia of this year are Zootopia, which has grossed 2.3 billion rubles, The Jungle Book (1.4 billion rubles) and Captain America: Civil War (1.1 billion rubles). That makes them the year’s top-, seventh- and ninth-highest grossing movies in Russia, respectively.

While this year’s box-office figure in rubles is the company’s highest of all time in the country, due to the Russian currency’s sharp devaluation over the last two years, 2013’s performance remains a Russian record for Disney in U.S. dollar terms. That year, Disney releases brought in in 5.8 billion rubles, which amounted to $183 million at that year’s average exchange rate of the ruble to the dollar.

Still, with such releases as Moana, Doctor Strange and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story scheduled before the end of the year, Disney has a chance to further boost its 2016 results in Russia.

Disney could also challenge for the record for a Hollywood studio’s best-ever performance in Russia in a single year. Universal, whose releases grossed 8.9 billion last year, currently holds that record.

Related Stories

Related Story

Controversy Stirs in Russia Over 'Bad Moms' Ad Campaign