With movie theatres expected to be freshly re-opened this month ,movie exhibitors are getting ready to unleash a banquet of goodies on the movie-theatre audiences. Taking the lead are Akshay Kumar and Van Diesel whose Bell Bottom and F9(the latest in the Fast & Furious franchise) are all set to open simultaneously on August 19.
Girish Johar, Producer & Film Business Expert is happy about the double bonanza. “Both films cater to the top-end cinema-loving audiences in the top cities and regions of the country. Here the vaccination drive is also on a solid momentum and they will be the front drivers to start the cinema going machinery. Further, both films are big and looking very good and have all the commercial appeal to draw the audiences in. For a film lover, it’s a double bonanza.”
Kishan Damani a leading Bihar exhibitor is also happy about the two big films coming together, “Both will appeal to more public to come back to theatre,so we will witness a better viewership.Bell Bottom will help single screens and F9 in multiplexes.”
While sections of the film trade are happy to see this “happy clash” others feel it is detrimental to release two such huge films on the same day.
Says trade expert Atul Mohan, “In normal situation pre-Covid days one could say clashes are inevitable.But pos-Covid things are different. Right now we have to plan and strategize releases in different way. We have to step by step move ahead, avoid clashes make people come to cinemas by releasing big titles at regular interval. The economic difficulties of the ticket-buying people can’t be ignored. They simply can’t watch two films on the same day, same weekend or same week. Clashes should be avoided.”
Trade pundit Taran Adarsh has the last word on the “happy clash”. Seeing it as an unavoidable circumstance he says, “The scenario has changed completely today. Earlier, the clash of two keenly awaited films would be considered unhealthy by a section of the trade, but in today’s times, especially now when we want the exhibition sector to revive and recover, the clash of two biggies at the boxoffice is inevitable.”
Taran also points out the difference in the content of the two purported blockbusters of August 19. “Bell Bottom and F9 belong to different genres. Bell Bottom will be the first Hindi biggie to release when cinemas reopen, while F9 is a much-loved and hugely successful brand. There’s no denying the fact that this clash is sure to result in a division of footfalls and revenue, but that can’t be helped. We need the audience to return to cinemas and only big movies can do the trick.”
Taran foresees such happy boxoffice clashes as inevitable. “Mark my words, clashes of multiple films will be a norm in coming weeks due to the backlog of films that are awaiting a theatrical release.”