Closed Maharastra Theatres Restricting Overall Box Office Collections Of Bollywood Movies
The ongoing Coronavirus pandemic has brought the Indian film industry to its knees, with theatres shut for months and now open with 50 per cent occupancy; however, Maharashtra, which contributes big in the overall Box Office collection of movies, still remain closed.
The latest Bollywood release- Bell Bottom starring Akshay Kumar, Vaani Kapoor, and Amitabh Bacchan starrer Chehre facing trouble, as both the movies are released without Maharashtra.
Atul Mohan, Film Trade Analyst, said, "Skipping the Maharashtra release is definitely affecting the BO collection of 'Bell Bottom' and 'Chehre'. Maharashtra is the biggest market for Hindi films which contributes to 30 per cent of BO collections and it cannot be ignored."
Releasing their film with Maharashtra which is one of the largest territories when it comes to Hindi films, is giving a tough time to producers as well.
Looking at the collections of Bell Bottom, we can say that it has lost 8-9 crore easily from Maharashtra itself. Not only the makers but even the trade were optimistic that the cinemas would open around the release of Akshay Kumar's 'Bell Bottom' like other states which opened. Meanwhile, Chehre was not a wide release as Bell Bottom. I think it will take time for the audience to return to the cinema. We need to reduce the ticket prices, create more awareness and promote the film at the ground level. The makers of Chehre were already in profits before the release of the film. They could have opted for a direct digital release, but they chose to show their solidarity towards cinemas. The same goes for the makers of BB as well," Mohan said.
Talking about the future release, Kangana Ranaut starrer Thalaivii is all set to hit the theaters on September 10. She had already announced that the story of this iconic personality (based on the life of late J. Jayalalithaa) deserves to be witnessed only on the big screen.
Answering the question, will skipping the Maharashtra release going to affect the BO collection of Kangana Ranaut’s upcoming movie, Mohan said, "Thalaivii so far has failed to generate the excitement or buzz as we say in the trade. The title is south and the story is south based. It may do well in the Southern States but the prospects as we progress from South to North looks a little dim, but we never know and we hope the film does well everywhere."
Meanwhile, with all the uncertainty in BO collection with big states like Maharashtra, many producers are opting for OTT release. Recently released movies like Sidharth Malhotra starrer Shershah and Kriti Sanon's Mimi are big hits on OTT.
Answering the same, Mohan said, "The film should have that kind of appeal. Remember out of so many OTT premieres in 18 months, we just have a handful of movies which have left a long-lasting impact and are loved by the audience."
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