In their first weeks, both, Sikandar and Jaat, seemed all set to net Rs. 100 crore each in India. But it is now clear that neither will join the Rs. 100-crore club. What happened?
– Both the films followed the same pattern — they did reasonably well in their first week, but collections dropped dramatically thereafter because the reports did not match the initial collections. In its first week, Salman Khan’s SIKANDAR got the benefit of Eid while Sunny Deol’s JAAT reaped the benefit of Mahavir Jayanti and Ambedkar Jayanti in its first week. It may be added here that the benefit of Eid to SIKANDAR did not accrue fully but the festival did help give its box-office collections a boost. Had it not released on Eid, nobody would’ve even initially expected the film to net Rs. 100 crore domestically. Ditto for JAAT.
When the entire industry agrees that it is the small window between a film’s theatrical and OTT release which has resulted in lower footfalls in cinemas, why does the industry not correct the situation?
– Probably because if the window is lengthened, the money which comes from the OTT platforms to the producers will reduce. There are several films, which don’t work at the box-office because they are substandard, but they still end up being profitable ventures for the producers only because such films get handsome monies from the OTT platform. If the window between a film’s theatrical release and OTT release is increased to, say, six months, the footfalls may increase, but the table profits might decrease. That is to say, the increased footfalls (and, therefore, box-office collections) may not be enough to compensate for the loss in revenue from sale of digital rights of the film.
I have a story for a film, which has all the ingredients of a box-office entertainer. I’ve knocked the doors of so many production houses, but nobody wants to entertain me as I am a new writer. What should I do? A potential hit is waiting to happen.
– Keep trying! By the way, when they start a film, every writer, producer and director feel, they are making a blockbuster. They all are convinced that their story is the best. But yet, the box-office success ratio every year is barely 20%.