How Salman 'kicked' his way to the bank

With his latest blockbuster Kick, Salman Khan is laughing his way to the bank. According to industry estimates, he has made a cool Rs 50 crore from the movie.

Notably, the Bollywood actor has de-risked his remuneration from any possible failure of the movie. Under a smart deal signed with STAR India last year, Salman Khan has sold the lucrative broadcasting rights of eight movies, in which he will be the star attraction till 2017, for a staggering Rs 450 crore.

The deal gives the channel network exclusive telecast rights to Salman Khan's movies released between January 2013 and December 2017.

Sector experts say that Salman Khan has made Rs 50 crore from Kick, Rs 30 crore as his share of the broadcasting revenue and Rs 20 crore from acting fees and a share of the box office earnings collected by the producers.

SAFE DEAL

• Under a deal signed with STAR India, Salman has sold the lucrative broadcasting rights of eight movies in which he will be the star attraction till 2017, for Rs 450 crore, which means Salman has de-risked his remuneration from any possible failure of the movie
   
• As a result of the STAR India deal Salman has raked in Rs 50 crore each for Kick and Jai Ho!
  

 

In the case of Salman Khan, the majority of the risk is borne by the producer/co-producers, who acquire the distribution rights to the movie
 

Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan charge in the range of Rs 15 to 20 crore a film, but they have not been able to de-risk themselves from the film's fate at the box office

According to analysts, Salman Khan has to share a part of this earning with his producer, who would have otherwise not handed the television rights over to Salman Khan.

While Salman Khan's peers Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan also charge Rs 15-20 crore for a film, they have not been able to de-risk themselves from the film's fate at the box office.

In the case of Salman Khan, bulk of the risk is borne by the producer and co-producers who acquire the distribution rights to the movie. The practice of taking a percentage of the box office collections is not a new one or one exclusive to Salman Khan. However, in the case of Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar, the actors also invest in the movie as producers. While Ajay Devgn has a similar broadcast rights deal with STAR India, the actor has co-produced the upcoming action flick Singham Returns with director Rohit Shetty. In stark contrast, Salman Khan has not put in any money for Kick.

"In the case of Salman Khan, the share of box office is over and above the satellite rights and the outright fees. He is safeguarded against most external factors that may affect the box office collections. The risk is taken by the broadcaster and the producers as no one can predict the outcome of a movie release," says an industry professional who deals in acquiring movies for channel networks.

A case in point is Salman Khan's January 2014 release Jai Ho! The movie was made at an estimated Rs 80 crore and sold (worldwide distribution rights) to Eros International for a reported Rs 100-110 crore. The movie was produced by Salman Khan's younger brother Sohail Khan.

In the deal, the younger Khan brother recovered the production cost and made a surplus selling the distribution rights. Salman Khan, on the other hand, is said to have made at least Rs 20 crore from the film in the form of outright fees and box office revenue share. Salman Khan also pocketed the Rs 50-odd crore that STAR India paid him for the broadcast rights.

In the end, Eros was left with only box office collection of Jai Ho! to recover its investment on the movie. As is known, the film failed to catch the fancy of movie goers and managed to collect Rs 117 crore in its lifetime, as opposed to expectations of Rs 150-175 crore.