Silver booty wrangle

CINEMA

To the dismay of exhibitors, blockbusters wield their power of attraction to justify a larger share of box office revenues.

While Lagey Raho Munnabhai rocks the Indian box office, film insiders are watching the sideshow: the wrangle over sharing the spoils. According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the film may have forgone at least a couple of crores in first-weekend revenues because of its absence on so many screens. Of the 70 multiplex chains in the country, only 20 screened the film.

How come? The film's producer and distributor Vidhu Vinod Chopra's terms and conditions were a little too stiff for most.

In many ways, it's a classic brand-versus-trade tug-o-war over margins. Now that Hindi films have recovered their magnetic appeal, film producers want a larger share of the filmgoer's wallet.

"It was a bomb waiting to explode," says trade analyst Komal Nahta, referring to the tussle. It has come to a head only in 2006 since this is the year of "big films".

Blockbusters tend to operate on a revenue-sharing model, by which the exhibitor and distributor split the intake by a pre-agreed ratio that may vary week by week. It was Yash Raj Films' Fanaa that sparked off the current controversy. According to Kunal Kohli, the film's director, instead of the multiplex offer of a 48 per cent share of first week revenues, 38 per cent in the second week and 28 per cent in the third, Yash Raj Films was able to wrangle a hefty 60 per cent share in the first week, followed by 40 and 30 per cent. "If our films bring phenomenal business to multiplexes," argues Kohli, "then why should exhibitors keep the higher share?"

The Yash Raj Films-distributed Krrish also pulled off a similar deal for itself. "This year has been full of blockbusters," says Rakesh Roshan, its director, "and it makes sense for topnotch filmmakers to ask for their fair share in the entire business."

According to Nahta, Chopra demanded the same ratio as Fanaa and Krrish for Munnabhai. But not every exhibitor was ready to bite. So, willy-nilly, Munnabhai has become the test film.

"Exhibitors have a valid ground to command a price," argues an exhibitor, "because 40 per cent of collections for films are through multiplexes." It is true that much investment in theatre capacity is based on an assumption of screen-end clout. By a recent KPMG study, the Indian film industry is set for revenues of Rs 14,300 crore in 2010, and exhibitors expect a good chunk of it. "For each multiplex," says the spokesperson of a large chain, "we usually invest Rs 15 crore. We make films easily accessible and are contributing significantly to the growth of the film industry, and producers should keep this in mind."

Eventually, though, it's about the forces of demand and supply. There is no way of arriving at a ratio that would do justice to all parties "" except to watch overall response. As Nahta puts it, "If Vidhu Vinod Chopra manages to do as much as 90 per cent of the business as Fanaa in its first week, he will be given what he is demanding, if not, the debate will continue."And debate, indeed, is good. "The spat between the content owners and exhibitors is an obvious byproduct of a maturing industry," says Atul Phadnis of E2E, a media consultancy. Meanwhile, other big budget films such as Don, Salaam-e-Ishq, Jaaneman and Dhoom 2 are on their way to Indian movie theatres.

"This argument won't rest," says Nahta, "Not in 2006 at least."