The dull initials of both the Eid releases today have sent shockwaves in the film industry. It is baffling that neither of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan and Maidaan opened to even average houses, considering that today was a nationwide holiday for Eid. While BMCM is expected to close the day with a net collection of only Rs. 10-11 crore (not taking into account the tickets purchased by the producers to window-dress the opening day’s collections), the total for Maidaan may be in the region of Rs. 6-7 crore only (including Rs. 2 crore from paid previews on 10th April; again, not taking into account the comparatively smaller amount of tickets bought by the producers/actors). The weak initial of Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff’s BMCM is baffling because it is a mass-oriented film and hence should’ve opened far bigger on Eid day while the pathetic opening of Maidaan is intriguing because the same hero’s (Ajay Devgan)Â Shaitaan opened to far better houses just five weeks back and the film is, in fact, still running in the cinemas.
Eid can easily be expected to throw up a day of Rs. 50-55 crore. Imagine how horrific the scenario is, given that the two big-budget films will together net Rs. 16-18 crore only! Looking to its lukewarm opening, the trailer of BMCM seems to have not inspired the confidence of the public at all. As for Maidaan, was it because the public simply didn’t want to watch a sports film that it opened to poor houses?
And to think of it that the producers and distributors of both the films fought for showcasing, making the lives of the all-India exhibitors hell in the last three-four days. Distributors of BMCM wanted all the shows in the single-screen cinemas they had booked while the distributors of Maidaan were keen to get two (of the five) shows in single-screen cinemas. Till as late as this morning (April 11), several single-screen cinemas had not finalised the number of shows allotted to the two films or whether they would be screening only one of the two films. The scene in the multiplexes was no different as the people behind the two films fought over the showcasing there too. ‘Take it or leave it’ or, in other words, ‘my way or the highway’ seemed to be the mantra of the distributors of both the films. Exhibitors had sleepless nights, trying to find a middle path which was not acceptable to either party. Ultimately, of course, things did get settled — as was bound to happen. But after so much of squabbling and arm-twisting.
It is high time that the industry people sat down together and came up with a permanent solution to this problem which raises its ugly head ever so often. Business is fun when it is conducted in a good atmosphere but the same business becomes dreadful when there’s tension day in and day out. In the case of this week’s releases, the advance booking for both the films was dismal, but had the two films generated a lot of heat, it would be an unfortunate scene that the plans at single-screen cinemas and in multiplexes wouldn’t have opened till the eleventh hour in the absence of clarity over the number of shows allocated to each film.
It’s simply not worth it to be fighting like cats and dogs every other week. The worst part is that in the final tally, both the films of this week — BMCM and Maidaan — seem to have been given more shows than they deserved — at least, going by the first day’s box-office figures. Both the films, perhaps, deserved much lower number of shows than they were given after a lot of heartburn, arm-twisting, mind games and what not!
Easily, this must be the dullest Eid at the ticket windows in the last many, many years!!