With coronavirus cases increasing to alarming levels in various states, the scenario for the film trade once again looks grim. Although an entire line-up of new releases had been announced after the Centre granted permission to cinemas to operate at 100% capacity, the fresh outbreak of COVID-19 has put a big question mark on the forthcoming film releases, especially those due in April.
Looking to the growing number of cases, various state governments have introduced different measures to control them. While some states have introduced limited curfew in cities with high incidence of the coronavirus, there are some which have asked for cinemas and malls to remain shut on Saturdays and Sundays. In those cities which have announced curfew from, say, 9 p.m., the last film show can start at 6 p.m. or 6.30 p.m. And for cities where cinemas will have to close down on Saturdays and/or Sundays, producers would definitely stand to lose heavily. For, it is common knowledge that box-office collections are the best during weekends.
In such a scenario, it is anybody’s guess that producers would have to postpone their films. For how many weeks? Nobody knows!
