Russian movies have yet to cash in on the country’s rapidly expanding OTT sector.

Kommersant reports that online distribution of titles does not bring producers significant income and is hampered by both high levels of piracy and the cost of content.

It gives the example of The Last Warrior, one of the most successful Russian releases of 2017, which accounted for only 1% of the income of Okko, an OTT service that operates a paid business model.

Russian movies generally contribute little to the OTT sector, with the most successful titles making only some R20 million (€284,000).

To be deemed a success, releases should attract at least 2.5 million viewers, whereas OTT services usually deliver only around 100,000.