Till not too long back, exhibitors were ruling the roost. As films after films were lined up for release, multiplex chains were in a position to dictate terms while producers and distributors were almost at their mercy. The tables have suddenly turned.
With films falling like nine pins at the box-office, multiplexes and single-screen cinemas are literally at their wits’ end, trying to figure out what they should be screening. And the new releases are mostly so pathetic that exhibitors would be often thinking whether it would be a better option to stay shut for a couple of weeks instead of screening what a cinema owner called “trash”.
Shows of both the new releases, Nikamma and Ittu Si Baat, were cancelled today (June 17) in a number of cinemas owing to the absence of audience. The scene was no different in the case of last week’s release, Janhit Mein Jaari. Shows of several other films released in the past few weeks have been cancelled with alarming regularity. Why, it is often becoming difficult for exhibitors to continue screening the films for even one week, so low are the footfalls and, therefore, the box-office collections.
Last year, when cinemas were finally reopening after the long lockdowns, the trade used to talk in terms of how so many films (due to the huge backlog) would be accommodated for release. The party seems to be over!