Box office Business Talk | AN EXHILARATING PHASE HAS BEGUN

The film industry has never had it so good…

On the production front, the number of films being launched/announced/conceptualised is catching a lot of people unaware. On an average, there are more than five fresh announcements every week.

On the distribution front, you can see distributors from some territories, especially Delhi-U.P. and Punjab, ready to clinch the deals at 'good' prices. However, Overseas continues to be the hottest territory today. If the film fares well, the sky is the limit.

On the exhibition front, the exhibitors are in the midst of a 'sunshine' phase, what with so many new films releasing in rapid succession. Even during the holy month of Ramzan [when a section of the audience stays away from theatres!], there was KAGAAR last week [October 31], EK DIN 24 GHANTE, PATTH and DHOOP this week [November 7], JODI KYA BANAI WAH WAH RAMJI and WAISA BHI HOTA HAI PART II next week [November 14] and OUT OF CONTROL the week after [November 21].

But an exciting period begins from November 28. The line-up of biggies – KAL HO NAA HO and JANASHEEN [November 28], TEHZEEB [December 5], L.O.C., LAKEER and AETBAAR [December 12], PLAN [December 19] and KHAKEE and MUNNABHAI M.B.B.S. [December 26] – clearly indicates that the year 2003 should end on a more-than-satisfying note.

Of course, it's a crucial phase as well. There's very less breathing space between each film, but let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best!

AVOID THE CLASH – IT'S UNHEALTHY

It's a known fact that when two or more films clash in one week, the business of films gets divided in the process. It's proved harmful most of the times. Like it happened during the Diwali week, when four films [PINJAR, SSSSHHH…, INTEHA, RAJA BHAIYA] clashed and crashed on the same day.

So, it does come as a surprise that when a producer decides to postpone the film to a latter date, thereby avoiding a clash, it is taken as a 'dar gaya' kind of an attitude in the business circles. That's disgusting!

I mean, it's important to have a good release, but what's of paramount importance for the producer is to ensure that the business prospects don't get affected just because his film clashed with another biggie in the same week.

Who benefits from this so-called clash? No one, if you ask me.

The common man is just not interested in watching so many biggies in a week. He has to make a choice and when he chooses one of the two, the prospects of the second gets minimised in the process.

For the distributors, it's akin to walking on a tight rope. A clash means the recovery of the investment is bound to be slow. And another biggie releasing in the next week would only make a further dent in its business.

Frankly speaking, it is unhealthy to have so many films release in the same week. Postponing a film to an 'open' week, thereby averting a clash, is a step in the right direction!