Behind film posters boasting huge collections lie exaggerated figures

Kollywood is facing a major crisis. Footfall in cinema halls have nosedived and box-office collections in the past three months have been less than impressive due to various external factors. The demise of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, cyclone Vardah, the Jallikattu agitation and the recent political instability have been a few such.

The content of recently-released films has not lived up to expectations as well.

Low footfall

Says distributor and exhibitor S Pictures’ Srinivasan, who controls nearly 75 screens in North and South Arcot, “The box-office is at an all-time low, especially single screens in small towns and rural areas. This February, we had only 60% footfall as compared to last year. We need content that will bring back audiences to the theatres and make it profitable for everyone — producer, distributor, exhibitor, and canteen and parking-lot contractors.”

Exaggerated figures

A WhatsApp message by veteran distributor and exhibitor Tirupur Subramaniam aggravated the situation further. The message said that box-office figures touted by producers and stars were grossly exaggerated. Subramaniam slammed producers and stars, and said that in the last seven months, star-driven films — with some of them claiming ₹100 crore collections and holding success parties — were not profitable for their distributors or theatres which paid MG (Minimum Guarantee) amounts.

The message that went viral mentions eight films that were projected as hits but turned out to be a losing proposition for the trade — Rajinikanth’s Kabali, Vijay’s Bairavaa, Suriya’s Si3, Sivakarthikeyan’s Remo, Dhanush’s Thodari and Kodi, Karthi’s Kaashmora and Jayam Ravi’s Bogan. The powerful distributor-exhibitor’s revelation proved that all was not well in the star-studded industry.

Subramaniam pointed out that when a film bombs, the pressure is on the distributor and exhibitor who have borrowed money from financiers. The stars, on the other hand, use these fake box-office collections to safeguard their stardom and high salaries.

The producer has to toe the line if he has to get another date from the particular actor. Stars also take advantage of the fact that there are umpteen first-time producers willing to produce a film without looking at the budget.

Hit or miss

A leading producer explains, “Earlier, box-office numbers were not revealed and stars were happy with the number of days the film ran — whether it celebrated 100 days or ran for 25 weeks. Today, when the life of a hit film is just 10 days, box-office numbers matter the most. And, due to the advent of social media, a film, whether hit or not, is perceived by audiences based on its opening weekend collections. Fans believe film posters that claim the film has made ₹100 crore, and this is what the producer and star want.”

Meanwhile, the rush to release new films continues. This Friday will have three releases — Arun Vijay’s Kuttram 23, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj’s Mupparimanam, and Kreshna’s Yaakkai.

And the big Hollywood franchise action-entertainer Hugh Jackman’s Logan is also hitting screens in English and Tamil.