Even as we write this, the producers’ guild and multiplex owners are trying to bury the hatchet and ink agreements that will have a bearing on revenue sharing. Insiders say that producers, with no other alternative but to relent to multiplex owners, have agreed upon a 50:50 revenue sharing for the first week. No one is willing to spill the beans until the paperwork is final. For the layman, all this means that new movies will be released in multiplexes. The dry spell is over, after nine weeks. Remember, Akshay Kumar’s Tasveer 8X10 was the last release before the strike set in.
There are plenty of big and small budget films lined up. Sajid Nadiadwala’s production Kambhakkht Ishq that stars Akshay Kumar as a Hollywood stuntsman and Kareena Kapoor as a supermodel is up for release. So is Blue starring Akshay Kumar and Sanjay Dutt. There’s Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone starrer Love Aaj Kal directed by Imtiaz Ali (the man who gave the breezy runaway hit Jab We Met). Vishal Bharadwaj’s Kaminey starring Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra is scheduled for July and Yash Raj productions New York starring John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukhesh will vie for attention too. There’s also the debut movie of Jackie Bhagnani, Kal Kisne Dekha. Sikander, a poignant movie set in Kashmir stars Ayesha Kapur (remember Black?) and Pazan Dastur (the child actor who charmed his way in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) with Sanjay Suri and Madhavan. Also factor in plenty of smaller releases like Let’s Dance and Karma: Crime Passion Reincartion.
Rs. 100 crore and counting
“The major part of revenue comes in during summer vacations. With no releases in nine weeks of summer, there has been a huge loss. Producers and multiplexes will hope to make this up,” says trade analyst Komal Nahata who puts the loss at Rs. 60 to 70 crore.
Producer Vashu Bhagnani, one of the key members involved in the negotiation with multiplex owners puts the figure at above 100 crore. Says Bhagnani, “People are hungry for new films and we are banking on that. Records for the past 20 years shows that films released in the end of May have done well. Thankfully movies are the biggest means of entertainment and people will flock back to theatres. A few good movies or just one big hit will have the industry back in form.”
Gayatri Patel in ‘Let’s Dance’.
It isn’t a rosy picture though with summer vacations coming to an end in the southern regions and the T20 tournament underway. “We have to learn to co-exist with cricket. We are bound to seeing three months of cricket in T20 format in a calendar year,” says Mahesh Ramanathan COO, BIG Pictures. While he agrees it’s going to be tough to grab eyeballs, he is optimistic. “It is not like movies have been shelved for good. The films will be released so we will get back the revenue.” With the stalemate promising to coming to a close soon, production houses will look to marketing their films aggressively and lobbying for the right theatres.
After all, no one wanted to take a chance and release their films in single theatres. Remember what happened to Aa Dekhe Zara, which avoided the multiplexes and ended up a BO dud? Multiplexes, on their part, have seen their occupancy rate drop to meagre 20-30 per cent. In Hyderabad, regional films kept mulitplexes busy and a host of English and international films also tried their luck.
Beginning next Friday, expect a host of releases.
Where’s the money?
As a result of the strike, the industry is estimated to have incurred a loss of more than Rs. 100 crore.
Kambhakkht Ishq, Blue, Love Aaj Kal, Kal Kisne Dekha, Sikandar and Let’s Dance are some of the movies awaiting release. The industry draws the maximum revenue during summer vacation and this time, hopes for a miracle to bring back audiences to the theatres post vacations. The T20 tournament may play spoilsport, eating into BO revenues.
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