The distribution game is spoiled
After Corona, the Hindi film industry has suffered a major injury. Earnings from single screen theaters have suffered huge losses. In the Hindi belt, these screens are the only major source of earning for the films. They remained closed during the pandemic. This had an impact on the industry. Viewers pay Rs 50-70 to watch the film in these theatres. The same price is three to four times more in multiplexes. About 40-50% of the box office collection of hit Bollywood films comes from non-multiplex zones. Due to high ticket prices in multiplexes, Bollywood movies get huge profits. His reliance on single screen was reduced to some extent. But, the fast-closing single-screen theater has suddenly put a strain on the forehead. On the other hand, films coming in dubbed from South India have increased the challenge. This has forced the producers to rethink the content and distribution strategy.
Films flop on flop, but fees on sky
Questions have been raised on the Bollywood business model. Some understand this by the fees of Bollywood stars. Let’s take the first example of Akshay Kumar. According to industry estimates, Akshay Kumar charges around Rs 117 crore for a film. The last many films of the actor have proved to be flop on flop. These include ‘Bell Bottom’, ‘Bachchan Pandey’ and ‘Samrat Prithviraj’. Even after so many flops, it is said that Akshay Kumar does not have any date till the end of this year.
Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan also take around Rs 100 crore for a film. They take some amount first. Take the rest from profit. Only Aamir Khan is the only big star who does not charge in advance. But, take 80 per cent of the shares from the profit. Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh also charge Rs 50-60 crore. Karthik Aryan has also increased his fees up to Rs 40 crore. Shahid Kapoor 35 and Varun Dhawan asks for 30 crores for a film. Industry experts believe that there is a need to reduce this fee in the current situation. Big film producers have not been affected so far because they can sell their films on OTT. However, there are many producers who will not have money to invest in good films.
Film | year of release | Box office collection |
tiger is alive | December 2017 | 339 crore |
Sanju | January 2018 | 343 crore |
war | October 2019 | 318 crore |
Tanhaji | January 2020 | 280 crore |
sooryavanshi | November 2021 | 196 crore |
The Kashmir Files | March 2022 | 253 crore |
Bollywood films could not stand in front of South films
The timing of the release of films makes a lot of difference. In the recent past, many big Bollywood films were released along with South films. Bollywood movies died at the box office. For example ‘Attack’ collided with ‘RRR’. At the same time, ‘Jersey’ fell with ‘KGF2’. The Hindi versions of ‘RRR’ and ‘KGF2′ created such a storm in the audience that all Bollywood films kept gathering dust. Earlier Bollywood film producers did not care much for South films. But, the way South’s dubbed films have started wooing the Hindi audience, the producers’ heart has come to a standstill. Of course, films like ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’ and ‘The Kashmir Files’ were extremely successful at the box office. But, many experts agree that the Bollywood industry has started losing its sheen. Statistics give evidence of this. The box office collections of top Bollywood movies have come down drastically in the last few years. It has come down from Rs 339 crore in 2017 to Rs 253 crore in 2022. The share of Hindi cinema in the box office collection has declined from 44 per cent in 2018-19 to 17 per cent in 2020-21.
Source: navbharattimes.indiatimes.com
: Language Inputs
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