When a big-budget movie is released, the theatres in the same city, screen that movie in the majority of the centres.
Theatre runs depends on the success of the films. (Supplied)
Malayalam survival thriller 2018 is on a rampage as the movie is running to full houses at theatres all over Kerala.
The film surely comes as a respite for the theatres in the state that have had to cancel shows due to the lack of occupancy for other films in recent times.
A week after the release of 2018, two Malayalam films — Janaki Jaane and Neymar — were released to mixed reviews from critics. But audiences weren’t that critical of these two films, and both have had decent occupancy in major cities and good collections at the box office (BO)
On the fifth day of its release, Janaki Jaane’s director Aniesh Upaasana revealed that his film isn’t getting enough shows in theatres due to the extra shows added for the ₹100-crore movie 2018.
In his Facebook post, which was an open letter to the producers and director of 2018, he alleged that theatre owners were changing the showtimes of Janaki Jaane to accommodate 2018.
He said that everybody can’t make a movie like 2018, and small films like his should also get screen space. This is a genuine concern from the filmmaker as, after the Covid pandemic, people are only heading for theatres if the movie has comedy, a wow factor, or a big canvas.
‘PS-2’ released in 300 theatres in Kerala. (Supplied)
When a big-budget movie is released, the theatres, even in the same city, show that movie in a majority of the screens. Producers and distributors will make agreements with most of the theatres in a particular city.
For example, in Kochi, when Ponniyin Selvan 2 was released on 28 April, the movie was screened in theatres such as Kavitha, Shenoys, Sridhar, Padma, Vanitha-Vineetha, and multiplexes such as PVR Oberon, PVR Lulu and Cinepolis.
All these movie halls showed the magnum opus in either Malayalam, Tamil or Hindi dubbed versions.
The theatres in nearby areas of Kochi, like Tripunithura, Ayyambili, Varapuzha, Pattimattom, Njarakkal, Aluva and Fort Kochi also screened Ponniyin Selvan 2.
On the same day, Fahadh Faasil’s Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum was released in 165 centres in Kerala, while Ponniyin Selvan was in 300 centres.
A similar situation happened with 2018. About 215 theatres screened the movie, which is based on the horrific floods that rocked Kerala in that year. The movie collected ₹50 crores in just seven days, which is big for a small industry like Malayalam.
The exhibitors have been showing the movie, and even after 15 days, the film has extra late-night shows and has collected ₹123 crore so far.
#2018Movie Another terrific day at worldwide box-office 👏
15th Day Kerala Gross: ₹2.8 Cr
15 Days Kerala Gross: ₹57.35 Cr15 Days Worldwide Gross: ₹123.35 Cr🔥
Will become all time biggest worldwide Mollywood grosser mostly by Sunday crossing #Pulimurugan 137.35 Cr pic.twitter.com/UI08lL3ujy
— ForumKeralam (@Forumkeralam2) May 20, 2023
This method of wide release happens in all cities and even small towns to get maximum profit in the first two-three weeks. But the wide release of big films results in other, smaller films not getting enough screens, affecting their theatrical business.
Some of the small films which were released in the first week of May are Anuragam (5 May), Janaki Jaane (12 May), and Neymar (12 May ).
Jackson Bazaar and Charles Enterprise which was released this week (19 May) is also having less audience compared to 2018.
Meanwhile, Neymar is running in theatres for second week with decent occupancy.
Anuragam and 2018 were released on the same day. But even in Kochi, Anuragam didn’t get many theatres on its release day. Though Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum, which released a week before 2018 and was well received by critics and audiences alike, the movie couldn’t maintain its momentum due to the 2018 phenomenon.
The movie is still running in theatres and has reportedly collected ₹10 crore so far.
#2018Movie crossed 2 Crores from Cochin Multiplexes at an average occupancy of 87%
Sensational Performance 🥵 pic.twitter.com/A7eREIVH5C
— Friday Matinee (@VRFridayMatinee) May 18, 2023
A poster of the film ‘Romancham’. (Supplied)
After the lockdown, many films are released every week, and this year more than 60 films have been released so far.
In March, at least 10 films were released, which is quite a big number for the Malayalam industry. According to an exhibitor, many films that are now getting released were meant to be OTT films, but the new agreement doesn’t allow filmmakers to a direct OTT premiere, he said.
Romancham, which was released in February, was the surprise hit in this pattern and collected around ₹60 crore. Madanolsavam, which was released during the Vishu festival season in April’s first week also had a good run, while Adi, the other release on the same day didn’t do well. Pranayavilasam and Pookkalam also had good runs, but weren’t super hits.
During Eid, Ayalvaashi, Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham, Neelavelicham, and Sulaikha Manzil were released.
Ashraf Hamza and Lukman Avaran on the sets of ‘Sulaikha Manzil’. (Supplied)
Of these, Sulaikha Manzil is still running in theatres and will complete one month of its release. This movie is a surprise hit, and this writer had seen the movie in PVR Oberon, Kochi, with a total of seven people in the theatre. But, it became a sleeper hit mainly in the Malabar area, ie northern districts of Kerala.
People in this part of the state could connect the movie with the weddings that happen in their own houses and village. The movie was known as kalyana padam (marriage movie) among the audience. The movie also got extra screens after it received a good response.
In a conversation with Ashraf Hamsa, the director of Sulaikha Manzil, he said that Muslim weddings have never been portrayed realistically in Malayalam cinema, and it has attracted the audience.
At the same time, other Eid releases left the theatres due to less audience even though films like Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham and Neelavelicham had good content.
Even B 32 Muthal 44 Vare, a movie funded by the Kerala State Film Development Corporation, had to be screened with the help of various film societies. Iratta, Thankam, Ntikkakkakkoru Premondarnn, and Rekha are some of the movies which didn’t work in theatres.
‘Iratta’ couldn’t attract the audience to theatres. (Supplied)
While speaking about the situation of small films, exhibitors are of the opinion that in the case of Janaki Jaane, which was released in around 95 theatres in Kerala, there are fewer people for the film in the small towns, while it has decent occupancy in cities like Kochi and Trivandrum. Neymar, which released at the same time in around 145 theaters, has a decent collection.
“When our shows are houseful for 2018, why should we screen a film which doesn’t have the needed audience,” a theatre owner asked on condition of anonymity.
He asserted that the director or the crew could have decided to change the release date as 2018 is doing very good business. “They could have released it during the Vishu season as there were only two films,” he said.
“I screened a parallel movie for two days in one of my 140-seater screens with just 30 to 60 people. Why should I bear such a huge loss as I gave a slot for this movie, sacrificing housefull shows of 2018, which was running to packed houses,” he asked.
Another theatre owner also opined the same. “I saw Janaki Jaane. It’s a good movie, but my theatre has less audience for it, while 2018 is having housefull shows. What else can we do rather than exhibiting the movie that has an audience?” he said.
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