Except for Gangubai Kathiawadi, the revised release schedules of no other films have been announced after the reopening of cinemas in Delhi from today. The Sanjay Leela Bhansali film has been shifted for a week so that instead of 18th February, it will now hit the screens on 25th of the same month. Days before the Delhi administration allowed cinemas in the capital city to operate at 50% capacity, the producers of RRR had announced that they would release the big-budget multi-starrer either on 18th March or 28th April, depending on how soon things returned to normalcy. Going by their announcement, it appears that RRR might see the light of the day on 18th March because it is hoped that if not normal, the situation will at least be near-normal by then.
But other producers are still cautious. They are waiting and watching rather than hurrying up to announce a new release date for their film which may have been pushed from its December 2021-end or January/February 2022 release date because of the restrictions imposed on cinemas by almost all the state governments in view of the rising number of Omicron cases from the last week of December 2021. Likewise, even films which had been scheduled for release in and after March this year, may need to move further because the postponed films of December 2021, and January and February 2022 would be probably rescheduling them in March/April/May.
The main point is the night curfew. Many states have still not lifted the curfew or even relaxed the curfew hours. With the curfew hours generally being from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., cinemas would need to shut down by 10 p.m. That would mean that the last show would have to start by 7 or 7.30 p.m. In other words, the shows starting from 7.45 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. and ending between 10.45 p.m. and 1.30 a.m. stand cancelled till the curfews are not lifted. In a normal day, these night shows could account for 25-40% of the day’s collections. In cases where a film does not open well, and the first day’s collections pick up as the day progresses, the night shows could contribute up to even 50% of the day’s total collections! To let go of that is not a good business proposition.
Many states have still not lifted the curfew or even relaxed the curfew hours.
In announcing the new release date for Gangubai Kathiawadi, Bhansali has, no doubt, assumed that night curfews in most states would have been lifted by then and that states where cinemas are shut in toto (like Rajasthan) or in some cities (like in the state of Haryana) would have by then granted permission to reopen them. But other producers would rather wait for a clearer picture to emerge on the cinema and curfew front than finalise the new release dates for their films.
Bhansali has, no doubt, assumed that night curfews in most states would have been lifted by then…
It may be recalled that producers of major films had first announced release dates in February 2021, after 11 months of almost no theatrical releases of big films. However, the Delta variant of the Coronavirus struck a month later, throwing all release plans awry. The next round of release dates was announced around September 2021 when the spread of the Delta variant had reduced dramatically. While some of those big films made it to the cinemas in November and December last year, the release schedules of many of the other films went haywire because of the Omicron variant and the resultant restrictions imposed on cinemas by different state governments. Rather than rush to announce the release plans for the third time, producers are now waiting for a clearer picture.
Rather than rush to announce the release plans for the third time, producers are now waiting for a clearer picture.
Whether Jayeshbhai Jordaar and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 will now adorn the cinema screens on 25th February alongside Gangubai Kathiawadi, is not known. Whether Bachchan Pandey will keep its date with the audience on 18th March or move ahead because RRR might release that day, one doesn’t know. The trade is also not sure when Jersey will strike or when Radhe Shyam will fill the cinema air with its melody.
The trade is also not sure when JERSEY will strike or when RADHE SHYAM will fill the cinema air with its melody.
It may be added here that once again, the stage seems set for a clash of films on many forthcoming Fridays because of the backlog. This may give solace to exhibitors because there won’t be a dearth of playing programmes for them but it will harm the interests of producers and distributors as films will eat into each other’s collections.