Kesari's subdued opening because of IPL? Not so, say experts

Many have blamed Kesari's subdued opening on the 12th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Akshay Kumar-starrer premiered on March 21, a public holiday because of Holi. While it made Rs 21 crore on the first day, its box office earnings dropped to Rs 16 crore the next day.

Though its earnings improved slightly on Saturday and Sunday, the film which was made in a budget of Rs 80 crore, collected slightly over Rs 40 crore over the weekend. Kesari's weekend collections were a tad lower than Kumar's last release Gold,  which earned Rs 24 crore on the first day, and Rs 42 crore over the weekend.

So did the IPL, which started on March 23, really impact Kesari?

Not so, say industry insiders.

If streaming platforms and films can co-exist, so can cricket and cinema. So, if a film doesn’t do well this IPL season, blame it on the content and not the league.

 “The film's collection dropped on Monday as well. So it was not just about IPL," said a leading industry voice, who didn't want to be named.

"It's a great subject which hasn't been treated greatly. It is like the Kangana Ranaut-starrer Manikarnika.  These films are an example of good subjects making a small impact at the box office because the star became the story,” he added. 

Atul Mohan, Business Analyst and Editor of Complete Cinema, a film trade magazine, said, “There is no need to fear IPL. The movie industry had success stories during last year's IPL. Avengers (Infinity War), Baahubali, Raazi and 102 Not Out did very well last year and this has been the trend in the last few years.”

While Alia Bhatt-starrer Raazi, which was made with a budget of Rs. 38 crore, collected Rs 122 crore, Amitabh Bachchan’s film 102 Not Out raked in over Rs 51 crore.

Movies this season

This IPL season, as much as Rs 400-Rs 450 crore is riding on films, said Atul Mohan. 

Big-ticket films from both Hollywood and Bollywood – including films like Kalank, Avengers Endgame, Shazam, Student of the Year 2, and De De Pyaar De – will dominate the cinema space 

“IPL impacted the movie industry for the first couple of years, but not after that,” said Amit Sharma, MD, Miraj Cinemas.

It was the novelty of the league that shifted the focus from cinema for some time but movies are back in the game in no time.

“Nothing can replace cinema, it is the core of all the formats of entertainment we have,” said Mohan.   

On whether IPL’s availability on both streaming apps and television means more competition for the movie industry, Sharma said “it is actually benefiting the industry".

"People are more bothered about the score as cricket is all about analytics so cricket is more about getting to know the score. Even if you are going for a movie, internet is helping people to keep track of the score. In fact, Hotstar is giving them the opportunity to watch cricket while traveling leaving enough time for movies,” Sharma added