Indiantelevision.com > All About Cinema... > Plexes get relief with 2 weeks of breathing space

Plexes get two weeks of breathing space

By ANINDITA SARKAR
Indiantelevision.com Team
(4 April 2009 9:10 pm)

MUMBAI: Multiplexes are in no crash course to settle with the film producers as they feel they can sustain for the next two weeks with the fresh movies that were served to them a day before the strike came into force.

Parallely, they are also trying to divide the producers community by negotiating with the small and independent makers for releasing their films during this interim period.

"Films that hit theatres on 3 April such as Tasveer and Mee Shivaji Raje Bhosle Boltoy (Marathi) will continue to feed our content slot for the next week. And, since the releases would be reaching only their second run at the box-office in the following week, we don't see much scarcity of content in that week too," avers Cinemax VP marketing and programming Devang Sampat.

Meanwhile, the producers had a meeting yesterday and decided to stay firm on their 50 per cent revenue share from multiplex owners for the first three weeks of release.

"Things are far apart at this stage, with both parties taking a hard stance. Talks are on, but the negotiations will start only when the situation worsens," says the head of a leading film production house.

Starved of content from most of the film producers, the multiplex exhibitors are hoping that some of the supply would come in. "Quite a few small and mid-size producers have shown interest in showcasing their films while the row continues. We are currently negotiating with a few of them," says Sampat.

But will these small ventures attract enough revenue for the plexes? "Well, not really", Sampat quips. "These films can't contribute much to the revenue stream. But irrespective of that, we will continue to release such films if the producers are ready."

Many multiplex operators are also preparing to bank on Hollywood movies during this tug-of-war period. Some are even planning to host film festivals if the strike drags on.

Says PVR - multiplex GM-marketing and sales Joy Ghosh, "We are hoping that both the parties will agree on practical settlements by sometime next week. However, if the strike still continues from the producer's end, we could fill up our content slot by hosting film festivals."

"Also, since Hollywood movies will still continue to release, this genre too could form part of our programming lineup. We also plan to fill in our content gap by adding PVR movies in the slots," Ghosh adds.