Compared to ceiling of Rs 120 in TN, tickets in Namma state will sell for Rs 500+

Key Highlights Advance bookings for Rajinikanth's new film Kabali opened in Bengaluru on Monday and all shows for the first few days were sold out within few hours

Single screens are selling Rs 100 ticket for Rs 250, while some up-market single-screens are even charging Rs 500 per ticket

Advance bookings for Rajinikanth's new film Kabali opened in Bengaluru on Monday. All shows for the first few days were sold out in a few hours. Corporate booking of bulk seats was also available. The ticket prices, even in single-screen cinemas, have more than doubled. Single screens, which usually charged Rs 100, are charging Rs 250 for Kabali. Some up-market single-screens are even charging Rs 500 per ticket. Multiplexes may end up pricing tickets into the stratosphere.

By contrast, there is a cap on film ticket prices in Chennai and the rest of Tamil Nadu. So, while someone in Bengaluru will pay Rs 500 for a single-screen ticket, the minimum price (regulated) in Chennai is Rs 10 and the maximum is Rs 120 in all multiplexes.

The distribution rights for Kabali in Karnataka have changed hands three times already, sources in the know said. Rockline Venkatesh who purchased the distribution rights in Karnataka sold it to Gokulraj Films, which in turn has sold it piecemeal in seven film distribution zones in the state. Unofficial sources say Rockline purchased the rights for Rs 10.50 crore from the producers; Gokulraj Films purchased it from him for Rs 12.50 crore. This in turn is said to have been sold in seven zones for a total of Rs 18 crore.

Despite all the hype surrounding the film, it still failed to beat the record for a non-Kannada film in Karnataka. Telugu film Bahubali's distribution rights for Karnataka were picked up by RS Productions last year for Rs 18 crore. Bahubali is also the highest-grossing non-Kannada film in the state with a total gross collection said to be Rs 40 crore.

Kabali will release in over 250 screens across Karnataka. "With the kind of hype around the film, it can easily recover the investment on the distribution rights even for the last-mile distributor. It will recover the cost in two weeks or at the most three weeks," a popular distributor of non-Kannada films said.

Multiplex rights for Bengaluru have fetched the highest amount at Rs 6 crore, according to sources. The rights have been bagged by Lahari Music who is also releasing it in four five-star hotels in the city at tickets priced at Rs 1,300 and Rs 1,400 including food and beverages. Bookings for four shows of the film for each of the three days between Friday and Sunday opened on Monday.

"If the response is good, we will continue the screening on weekdays too. This is the first time any film is being screened at five-star hotels. Going by the response we plan to do this for all big Kannada films henceforth," said Tulsiram Naidu of Lahari Music.

