Now that cinemas in Maharashtra are set to reopen from 22nd October, producers have lost no time in announcing the release dates of their completed and nearly-completed films. While some have waited for 17-18 months to get their films on the big screen, others have delayed the release of their films by over a year, still others for a year or some months. And so, there is a huge backlog of films waiting to hit the screens — even after many producers had opted for OTT premieres of their films during these 18 months of the Coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.
Take a look at the films announced so far in the seven months from November this year.
Nov. 5, 2021: Sooryavanshi
Nov. 19, 2021: Bunty Aur Babli 2
Nov. 26, 2021: Satyameva Jayate 2
Dec. 3, 2021: Tadap
Dec. 10, 2021: Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui
Dec. 10, 2021: Gangubai Kathiawadi (likely)
Dec. 17, 2021: Spider-Man: No Way Home
Dec. 24, 2021: 83
Dec. 24, 2021: The Matrix: Resurrections
Dec. 31, 2021: Jersey
Jan. 14, 2022: Radhe Shyam
Jan. 21, 2022: Prithviraj
Jan. 28, 2022: Attack
Feb. 11, 2022: Laal Singh Chaddha
Feb. 25, 2022: Jayeshbhai Jordaar
March 4, 2022: Bachchan Pandey
March 18, 2022: Shamshera
March 25, 2022: Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2
April 15, 2022: KGF 2
April 29, 2022: Mayday
April 29, 2022: Heropanti 2
The above list has the names of 21 films which have been announced for release in the seven months beginning November, 2021. It means, Bollywood will have at least three new and big films vying for public attention every month. Point to note is that more films are likely to be added to this list. On the other hand, the chances of producers backing out are low because most of them have been waiting since long for normalcy to return so that they can release their films on the big screen.
One can well imagine how collections of films will eat into each other because no film will get the clear playing field it deserves. Of course, this was bound to happen because there have been no major releases (except for Bell Bottom, Chehre and Thalaivii) in the cinemas for more than 18 months now since the first lockdown was announced in March 2020. But in spite of the fact that this kind of flow of releases was expected, the enormity of the problem of too many releases hits one when all the films are listed together.
All one can say is: Cinemas had the going very tough for 18 months. The next seven to eight months will see the cinemas in a commanding position because there will be an excessive supply of films. One hopes, producers and distributors don’t have to bear the brunt of this in terms of unfavourable revenue-sharing terms.
