Content and revenue challenges ahead for Maharashtra exhibitors

The proposal made by the government led by Devendra Fadnavis is not going down well with the exhibitor fraternity

While the Maharashtra government has proposed to make it compulsory for multiplexes to screen Marathi movies during prime time, the exhibitor fraternity has doubts on the feasibility. Most feel having such compulsions would not only affect business, but not guarantee any improvement in the popularity of Marathi films.

The Marathi film industry released 86 films last year, and the total collections at the box office were in the range of Rs 100 to 150 crore. The majority of this collection, however, came from two films - Lai Bhaari (Rs 36 crore) and Time Pass (Rs 28 crore). The size of Marathi film revenues is fairly low. Marathi films are already exempt from tax in Maharashtra.

The fact that the industry makes less than two movies a week means exhibitors might have to see foot shows with very low occupancy more often than not. "We know that in the film business, artistic merit does not always translate to financial success, no matter how brilliantly a film is made. Regional films will always be hard to sell compared to the Hindi language equivalents. Regional movies are never going to do the kind of business on which multiplexes depend," says Suniel Wadhwa, independent distributor and box office analyst.

It is mandatory for multiplexes in Maharashtra to have at least 120 shows for Marathi films a property each year. Considering only around five per cent of the movies released have commercial potential, exhibitors are just about fulfilling this requirement. With one show a day at prime time, they would need at least 365 shows a year, which might not be commercially logical, given the scarcity of content.

Exhibitors also believe making it compulsory to have Marathi films during prime time will hinder the flexibility in programming of not only non-Marathi fare, but the very films the government wants to promote.

Devang Sampat, head-business strategy at Cinepolis India, says, "We need to sit down and clear a few things. The phrase prime-time is subjective when seen in the context of the genre and content of the film, and the location of the multiplex. For example, a movie like Classmate, which attracted a lot of young student audiences, did very well in the first half of the day, and technically, that would be the prime time for such a movie." He feels there are a lot of nuances that need to be clarified taking the exhibitor fraternity in confidence, before passing a mandate.

Rahul Puri, managing director, Mukta Arts Limited, says, "I support the need to push local culture into the public's view but disagree with any law that affects the ability of a free market to operate. It is true that large studios sometimes get pride of place for their films with exhibitors due to their muscle and strength, but that is something that exhibitors readily agree for as it is in their business models best interests. Finally, it should be up to the exhibitors to decide what is best for their business."

He adds, "If local films are good enough, the public will demand these and, therefore, exhibitors will play them. If, as the government and other bodies have argued, local films are 'better' than Hindi fare, then what is the need to push them into prime-time slots. If the collection is good, the free market will ensure they get proper places. Forcing exhibitors to run films that do not collect at prime-time will hamper their profitability, and the exhibition sector as a whole will suffer."

From the revenue perspective, exhibitors are jittery of the impact during the festival season. Big-budget movies release in that season so that they can capitalise on sentiment and make big bucks in the first three or four days. Having a show dedicated to Marathi films, at a time when the audience wants to see a mainstream Hindi film, will definitely pinch exhibitors. There is scope to increase the price at this time, and even a 200-seater going under-occupied would mean a loss of lakhs of rupees over the first weekend of a film release," says an analyst.