Kinopoisk

Overview

Kinopoisk is a Moscow-based entertainment platform operated by Yandex, Russia's dominant technology company. The service combines a film encyclopedia (comparable in scope to IMDb), an online cinema, a movie ticket booking service, a film media outlet, and a cross-streaming recommendation engine. In 2025, 60 million users visited Kinopoisk monthly, with 29 million users rating films and series on the platform. The online cinema component reaches 18 million subscribers monthly through the Yandex Plus multi-subscription, a 29% increase over 2024.

Kinopoisk is Russia's largest streaming service by subscriber count and revenue. The broader Russian streaming market reached approximately 189 billion rubles in 2025 (per TMT Consulting), growing 39% year over year. Subscription revenue drove 182.6 billion rubles of that total, a 42% increase. The top five platforms (Kinopoisk, Okko, IVI, Wink, and Kion) hold a combined 85 to 86% market share. Kinopoisk's revenue grew 44% in 2025, exceeding its 40% growth in 2024.

The platform operates under the Yandex Plus subscription ecosystem, which bundles streaming with Yandex Music, Yandex Books, Yandex Afisha (ticketing), and other services. Yandex Plus subscribers reached 39.2 million by the end of 2024, growing 29% year over year. Yandex reported 1.1 trillion rubles ($11.22 billion) in total revenue for 2024, up 37%. Olga Filipuk serves as Head of Yandex's Entertainment Ecosystem, overseeing Kinopoisk, Yandex Music, Yandex Books, Yandex Afisha, and Plus Studio (the in-house production arm).

Content and Original Programming

Kinopoisk's content strategy centers on Russian original productions and licensed international content. In 2025, 88% of subscribers watched Russian projects on the platform, with Russian series viewed by 81% of the audience. Series viewing surpassed film viewing for the first time in 2025, marking a shift in Russian streaming consumption patterns. The share of Russian films in viewing declined to 69% for the first time since 2021, as international licensed content regained ground.

Plus Studio, Kinopoisk's in-house production arm, has produced original hits including the Major Grom franchise, Patient Zero, The Monastery, Cyberfarm, The King and the Jester, Games-80, Fisher, and Lilies of the Valley. The studio has also co-produced international projects, including multiple Guy Ritchie films (The Covenant, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, In the Grey). Plus Studio is planning an adaptation of the video game Atomic Heart.

In 2025, 160 titles on Kinopoisk reached an audience of over 1 million subscribers, a 33% increase over 2024. The most popular genres were comedies (57 projects), animated films (32), and dramas (25). Three anime titles entered the "millionaire" club. The top titles by the Kinopoisk Pro popularity index in 2025 were Squid Game, Solo Leveling, and Pharmacist's Monologue. Twelve of the 160 millionaire titles were Kinopoisk exclusives, though the exclusivity share declined from 9% in 2024 to 7% in 2025.

The average subscriber watches 36 titles, 15 sports broadcasts, and 16 TV channels per year, spending an average of 11 days per month on the platform. Time spent per subscriber grew 24% in 2025. Children's and family content reached 40% of subscribers, with animated films remaining in the platform's top 10 for 304 days of the year.

Platform Evolution

In 2025, Kinopoisk completed its transformation from a standalone streaming service into a comprehensive entertainment platform. The service now combines:

• An encyclopedia of world cinema with user ratings (comparable to IMDb, with 29 million active raters)
• An online cinema with subscription streaming
• A movie ticket booking service for physical cinemas
• A film and series media outlet with editorial content
• A cross-streaming recommendation engine ("Where to Watch" links that direct users to other platforms)

The cross-streaming recommendation feature is notable: 43% of Kinopoisk users browse content available on other streaming services through the platform's "Where to Watch" links. This positions Kinopoisk as a discovery layer for the entire Russian streaming market, not just its own catalog.

Russian Streaming Market Context

Russia's streaming market has consolidated rapidly since 2022, when international platforms including Netflix withdrew from the Russian market in response to sanctions. Domestic platforms filled the vacuum, and the market has grown aggressively since. In 2025, 54 million Russians held paid streaming subscriptions (up 33.3% year over year), with 75 million total streaming users nationwide.

The market is dominated by five platforms:

1. Kinopoisk (Yandex): 18 million subscribers, 44% revenue growth in 2025
2. Okko (Sber): 10.1 million paid subscribers, 52% year-over-year growth
3. IVI: 11.8 million users, 17.4% growth
4. Wink (Rostelecom): 7.7 million paid subscribers, 16.9% growth
5. Kion (MTS): declining share

Premier (Gazprom Media) reached 7.2 million subscribers in 2025 with 70% revenue growth. Amediateka, the Russian home of HBO content, grew 95.4% to 1.3 million paying subscribers.

The subscription model dominates the Russian market, generating 182.6 billion rubles in 2025 (42% growth). Transactional VOD (TVOD/EST) accounts for less than 0.5% of the market. Ad-supported revenue (AVOD) declined 13% to 6.4 billion rubles, representing just 3% of total market revenue.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For international filmmakers and rights holders, the Russian streaming market presents significant challenges. The geopolitical and sanctions environment since 2022 has made Russian licensing complex and potentially unworkable through standard international distribution channels. Netflix withdrew from Russia in March 2022, and other Western platforms followed. Rights holders with pre-existing Russian streaming deals have faced complications in revenue collection and contract enforcement.

International filmmakers with Russian streaming rights to sell should consult with their sales agents and international lawyers before entering into any Russian licensing agreements. Sanctions compliance, payment routing, and contract enforceability all require specialized legal review. Standard international sales agreements that previously included Russia as a licensed territory now typically exclude it or include force majeure provisions.

For Russian filmmakers, Kinopoisk is the largest and most commercially significant streaming platform for domestic distribution. The platform's 18 million subscribers and 60 million monthly users represent the largest single audience in Russian streaming. Original productions commissioned by Plus Studio receive prominent placement and marketing support. The platform's shift toward series over film means feature filmmakers may find more opportunities in theatrical distribution or competing platforms with stronger film programming.

For historical context, Kinopoisk's scale and Yandex's dominant position in Russian digital media made it a significant licensing target for international content rights holders before 2022. The platform licensed international films and series extensively, and pre-2022 deals generated meaningful revenue for international sales agents. The current market conditions have fundamentally altered this relationship.

Example Titles They've Released

Plus Studio, Kinopoisk's in-house production arm, has produced original hits including the Major Grom franchise, Patient Zero, The Monastery, Cyberfarm, The King and the Jester, Games-80, Fisher, and Lilies of the Valley. The studio has co-produced international projects including multiple Guy Ritchie films (The Covenant, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, In the Grey) and is planning an adaptation of the video game Atomic Heart. In 2025, 160 titles on Kinopoisk reached an audience of over 1 million subscribers, a 33% increase over 2024. The most popular genres were comedies (57 projects), animated films (32), and dramas (25). The top titles by the Kinopoisk Pro popularity index in 2025 were Squid Game, Solo Leveling, and Pharmacist's Monologue. Twelve of the 160 millionaire titles were Kinopoisk exclusives. Three anime titles entered the "millionaire" club.

Deal Structure Reputation

Kinopoisk operates under the Yandex Plus subscription ecosystem, which bundles streaming with Yandex Music, Yandex Books, Yandex Afisha (ticketing), and other services. Yandex Plus subscribers reached 39.2 million by the end of 2024, growing 29% year over year. The online cinema component reaches 18 million subscribers monthly through Yandex Plus, a 29% increase over 2024. Kinopoisk's revenue grew 44% in 2025, exceeding its 40% growth in 2024. The broader Russian streaming market reached approximately 189 billion rubles in 2025, growing 39% year over year, with subscription revenue driving 182.6 billion rubles (42% growth). For international filmmakers and rights holders, the geopolitical and sanctions environment since 2022 has made Russian licensing complex and potentially unworkable through standard international distribution channels. Netflix withdrew from Russia in March 2022, and other Western platforms followed. Standard international sales agreements that previously included Russia as a licensed territory now typically exclude it or include force majeure provisions.

Typical Acquisition Profile

For Russian filmmakers, Kinopoisk is the largest and most commercially significant streaming platform for domestic distribution. The platform's 18 million subscribers and 60 million monthly users represent the largest single audience in Russian streaming. Original productions commissioned by Plus Studio receive prominent placement and marketing support. The platform's shift toward series over film (series viewing surpassed film viewing for the first time in 2025) means feature filmmakers may find more opportunities in theatrical distribution or competing platforms with stronger film programming. In 2025, 88% of subscribers watched Russian projects on the platform, with Russian series viewed by 81% of the audience. The share of Russian films in viewing declined to 69% for the first time since 2021, as international licensed content regained ground. For international filmmakers with Russian streaming rights to sell, sanctions compliance, payment routing, and contract enforceability all require specialized legal review.

Watch: Trailers and Behind the Scenes

See Also

For international sales representation that covered Russia as a standard European territory prior to 2022, see Wild Bunch International in this directory. For how sanctions and geopolitical disruption affect international film rights, see Distribution Deals Explained. To model revenue from international streaming licensing across multiple territories, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For understanding how streaming revenue compares to theatrical in different markets, see Streaming vs Theatrical Revenue.