'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2' Theatrical Release Canceled in Russia

It became the third Hollywood film to be pulled from Russian theaters this year.

The theatrical release of Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 has been canceled in Russia, the movie becoming already a third major Hollywood release since the beginning of the year to be pulled from theaters.

On Wednesday, Walt Disney Studios Sony Pictures Releasing CIS, a distribution company for Sony and Disney fare in Russia and other post-Soviet countries, announced that Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, which was originally slated for a theatrical release on July 2, will only be released on DVD and Blu-Ray.

"The decision was made by the main office," a spokesperson for WDSSPR told The Hollywood Reporter, providing no further comments. The US office of Sony Pictures did not reply to THR's request for comment.

Earlier this year, two other Hollywood films were not released in Russia as scheduled.

Mortdecai, originally scheduled to be released in March, was postponed indefinitely.

Last month, Lionsgate's movie Child 44 was pulled from theaters one day before the previously announced release date at the request of the culture ministry, which said the movie distorted Russian history.

The first Paul Blart film was released in Russia in 2009 and grossed $276,246, according to the data base KinoPoisk.