Turning the tables on multiplex owners, film producers have moved the Competition Commission of India (CCI) alleging that a cartel has been formed and the theatre operators are imposing unreasonable conditions for screening movies.
This move comes within few months of the competition watchdog CCI having imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh each on 27 film producers on charges of colluding through a cartel to exploit theatre owners.
"Film producers have filed a complaint against multiplex owners alleging that the latter makes unreasonable demands like high share in revenues. They have also brought to the commission's notice that theatre owners collude together to bar exhibition of films and that causes huge losses to producers," a senior official told PTI.
The complaint, which was filed on July 27, has been admitted under Section 3 and 4 of the Competition Act, which pertains to anti-competitive agreements and the abuse of dominant position, the source said.
It is to be recalled that Hollywood producers Warner Brothers recently had a tough time releasing their blockbuster, 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2', because of a face-off with multiplex owners over profit-sharing.
Hollywood producers normally get 50% in the first week, 42.5% in the second week, 37.5% in the third week and 32.5% in the fourth week of the film's release, while for Bollywood films, the share is 48% for the first week and 38% for the second, depending upon the movie.
In 2009, producers had unanimously decided against screening their films at multiplexes in response to the arbitrary revenue-sharing demands of the multiplex owners.
Eventually, the Multiplex Owners' Association filed a complaint against the United Producers and Distributors Forum, the Association of Motion Pictures, the TV Programme Producers and Film and TV Producers Guild of India, among others.
The CCI is an anti-trust body set up in 2009 to check anti-competitive practices in India.