Down with COVID-19, film industry eyes release of two Bollywood films for revival

There are 15 big Bollywood movies waiting to be released in theatres along with 35-40 medium-size films that are in the pipeline.

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This year theatres have reopened with a lot of new content, including two upcoming Bollywood ventures.

Unlike last year, when cinemas not only played old films but also waited months for the release of Bollywood ventures, this year there are two star-studded releases waiting to hit the big screens.

While one is Akshay Kumar-starrer Bell Bottom which is scheduled to release on August 19, the other is Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi-starrer Chehre which will hit theatres on August 27.

Veteran producer Anand Pandit, in a chat with Moneycontrol, said that despite the pressure due to the pandemic, he waited for a theatrical release for Chehre.

"Theatres have supported films for 40-50 years and because of them movies have survived. So, when theatres are struggling, I can support them with at least one film of mine."

It is not just one film Pandit will be releasing in theatres. In the first half of next year he will release another film called Thank God on the big screens.

These release schedules will give confidence to other producers to release their films in theatres, believes film producer and trade business analyst Girish Johar.

When it comes to Bollywood ventures, there are 15 big Bollywood movies waiting to be released in theatres along with 35-40 medium-size films that are in the pipeline, Rajender Singh Jyala, Chief Programming Officer, INOX Leisure, had told Moneycontrol in an earlier interview.

Some of these ventures include Akshay Kumar's Sooryavanshi, Ranveer Singh's 83 and Jayeshbhai Jordaar, Ranbir Kapoor's Shamshera, among others.

Ranveer Singh alone is likely to contribute around Rs 400 crore with his ventures 83 and Jayeshbhai Jordaar which are expected to do a business of Rs 250 crore and Rs 170 crore, respectively.

Other big star-led ventures like Ranbir Kapoor's Shamshera  and Ajay Devgn's Maidaan are expected to add Rs 135 crore and Rs 110 crore, respectively to overall India box-office.

However, the release dates of these films are not yet announced.

Plus, a lot depends on the COVID-19 situation due to which Maharashtra has still not allowed theatres to reopen. The state accounts for 25-30 percent of box office collections of Hindi films.

Even Pandit is expecting a big impact on Chehre's box office business.

One major impact has been the number of screens in which Chehre was supposed to release initially.

"The aim was to release Chehre in 1,500 screens but because of COVID-19 impact, Maharashtra being shut and many single screens still not open because of financial issues and renovation,  we are now trying to release the film in 1,000 screens," said Pandit.

In addition, Johar said that there are too many restrictions when it comes to running cinemas in the time of COVID-19.

"Every state has a different cinema protocol. In some states, weekend opening is not allowed for cinemas. In some places cinemas are open till 8 PM and in some places theatres can be open till 10 PM. Some states are allowing 50 percent occupancy and some have 100 percent cap. So, the focus right now is more on winning audience confidence than on box office numbers," he added.

Around 12 states and two union territories have allowed cinemas to reopen out of which only Telangana and Gujarat have allowed more than 50 percent occupancy in theatres.

While Telangana has allowed 100 percent capacity, in Gujarat theatres can operate at 60 percent capacity.

While these restrictions may impact box office numbers, currently films in theatres which is a mix of regional and Hollywood are seeing decent traction.

"Regional films are doing well. Punjabi film Puaada is doing well. There were six regional films from down south last week and four of them have performed well. These are positive trends at the box office," said Johar.

Puaada with a limited release has collected over Rs two crore in four days of its release in theatres.

Another regional venture SR Kalyana Mandapam, a Telugu film, collected around Rs 3.50-4 crore over its first weekend.

As for Hollywood films, Suicide Squad which released on August 5 collected around Rs 2 crore in the first four days of its release.

While these are green shoots for the film industry, the road ahead is patchy as a lot depends on how the films fare at the box office.

Pandit also pointed out that it is not easy for producers to wait for theatrical release.

"There's a heavy interest burden which a producer has to bear. And as the industry is not recognised by many banks we don't get the support required and we have to resort to private institutions for debt and the interest there is very high. Also, the nature of business is risky, so the interest rates are high," he explained.

This is why many films have taken to direct to digital releases due to which box office has lost around Rs 580 crore from the release of 26 films that released on over the top (OTT) platforms first.

While there are uncertainties for both the film and theatre business, multiplex operators like PVR and INOX are seeing growth in occupancy levels with every new release.

But it will be Akshay Kumar's Bell Bottom that will have to do the heavy lifting in bringing back audiences in large numbers to theatres.