The three biggest national multiplex chains — PVR, Inox and Cinepolis — may have not agreed to play Thalaivii at their cinemas but the producers of the Hindi-Tamil bilingual film (which has been dubbed in Telugu too) will end up making profits.
The Hindi version today (10th September) opened to miserable houses and its chances will be further marred because of the boycott by the three multiplex chains, besides the other lockdown restrictions (like 50% capacity, night show restrictions, Maharashtra cinema closure even now, fear of the third wave of Coronavirus, etc.). For instance, Jyoti and Raaz cinemas in Bhopal had to remain shut in the first show (12 noon) today because of zero audience. The film netted only Rs. 400 in the first show (12 noon) at Kailash, Gwalior. But the Tamil version opened to around 40% of the capacity permitted, which is far better than the opening of the Hindi version. What’s more, the shows in Tamil Nadu showed a huge jump after 2 p.m. In many multiplexes and single-screen cinemas in the Southern state, collections after the morning and matinee shows are 90% of the capacities, and many shows are likely to even be house-full! However, it needs to be understood that the good/bad/ugly opening of the film today (10th September) is in the domain of the worldwide distributor (Zee), and not the producers, because Zee holds the all-world theatrical rights of all the three versions of Thalaivii.
The economics of the film are as follows:
Total cost of the film (including promotion cost): Rs. 70-75 crore
Recoveries:
Digital rights of Tamil & Telugu versions sold to Amazon Prime for: Rs. 18-20 crore
Digital rights of Hindi version sold to Netlix for: Rs. 35-40 crore
Music rights: Rs. 3 crore
Satellite and worldwide theatrical rights of all versions sold to Zee for: Rs. 30 crore
Total recoveries: Rs. 86-93 crore
As shown above, the producers have made a table profit before its release. It now needs to be seen how much profit Zee would end up making on the Jayalalithaa biopic starring Kangana Ranaut.
Incidentally, PVR, Inox and Cinepolis are playing the Tamil and Telugu (dubbed) versions because the producers had agreed to delay the digital release of those two versions. The Tamil and Telugu (dubbed) versions will premiere on Amazon Prime after four weeks of their theatrical release, as desired by PVR, Inox and Cinepolis.