YOU ASKED IT | 1 July, 2022

Why are almost all films failing at the box-office? Is it true that people have stopped coming to the cinemas?

It’s not true that the public has stopped frequenting cinemas. Had they stopped, how did BHOOL BHULAIYAA 2 do so well at the box-office? But what is true is that people are not coming to cinemas unless a film is worth watching. For lesser films, people don’t mind waiting for a month so that they can watch those films on an OTT platform. The exclusive theatrical window for films, as you know, has been reduced to four weeks, after the lockdown.

Films of big production houses fetch fantastic revenues from sale of digital and satellite rights even if they fail at the ticket windows. Therefore, such producers don’t make losses. Is that true?

That’s true quite often. But what about the loss of reputation that follows a flop? Besides, OTT platforms and satellite television channels pay them humongous prices because they have been delivering successful and hit films in a row. If they deliver flops in a row, they will not be entitled to the benefit of high prices from the platforms and channels.

Will Thor: Love And Thunder, due next week, open well?

– You bet, it will open very well. Its advance booking, started days earlier, has been good.