Posted:
Girish Johar @girishjohar
Cash crunch has hit the single screens..specially in small towns...very hard...infact few in Delhi have shut too
Komal Nahta @KomalNahta
No new film content for 1000 single-screens after demonetisation. DearZindagi, Kahaani2 & now Befikre not being released in single-screens.
Komal Nahta @KomalNahta
Sad state of affairs for single-screen cinemas. Thousands of lives depend on them.
DEMONITISATION DRIVES FILMS OUT OF SINGLE SCREENS
By Natasha Coutinho, Mumbai Mirror | Dec 7, 2016, 12.12 AM IST
Filmmakers are opting to limit number of prints in these theatres in the wake of a cash-strapped audience.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation drive has single screens running empty. Producers and distributors are limiting the number of prints they are releasing in these theatres in an effort to keep losses down to the minimum. Some films they are holding back in the week of release and only parting with the prints after they have finished their multiplex run by which time interest in them has died down.
Jayantilal Gada, the producer of the recently-released Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh admits that he curtailed the release of his thriller and gave prints to only 1-2 per cent of the single screens. "And despite this, we have taken a hit of Rs 10 crore in our profits since we have to bear some of the expenses for every theatre we release our film in and today it's not possible to recover this money. We targeted the multiplex audience as they pay with plastic. In fact, if the promotions hadn't begun we might have held the film back," informs Gada, optimistic of recovering his cost from satellite and music rights and the overseas market.
Nitin Datar, President of the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India, grouses that it's an "unfair move", noting that while Kahaani 2 may have been appreciated more in multiplexes it should've released everywhere simultaneously to beat piracy.
"Dear Zindagi too wasn't screened in many single screens in the first and even second week. We can't force makers to give us their films but if audience turns their back, it will take us months to bring them back and eventually even producers and distributors will lose money. Even in areas where there are no multiplexes, they are opting for a limited release," he asserts, adding that he has advised members to update technology so people can pay by card. Santosh Bhatia, exhibitor for Premiere Gold Cinema, Dongri, notes that they charge just Rs 100 as compared to a Rs 300 multiplex ticket yet makers are preferring the latter because they have no change to pay them.
Manoj Desai, executive director of G-7 and Maratha Mandir cinemas admitted that his audience has reduced by around 45 percent but is confident that had Force 2 been released under normal circumstances, it would have packed in full houses in the single screens.
Trade analyst Komal Nahta opines that you can neither blame producers for safeguarding their interests nor single screen owners for protesting the treatment meted out to them. "You can't force filmmakers who are anyway making more multiplex-centric films. After demonetisation, entertainment is the last priority for the single screen audience because everyone is busy exchanging notes, visiting chartered accountants or queueing up at ATMs. Single screens have as good as shut down because even if they re-release an old film they have no collections to speak of. At the moment every producer is petrified about the shortage of currency notes," he says.
Producer Bhushan Kumar has pushed the release of his next, Wajah Tum Ho from December 2 to December 16. Earlier, Saansein had delayed its release from November 11 to 25. Wajah Tum Ho director Vishal Pandya admits the delay was because of the cash crunch in smaller centres. "We have worked on the film for a year and it would appeal to single screens who'd bring in the revenue. This way we also get more time for promotion," he reasons.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation drive has single screens running empty. Producers and distributors are limiting the number of prints they are releasing in these theatres in an effort to keep losses down to the minimum. Some films they are holding back in the week of release and only parting with the prints after they have finished their multiplex run by which time interest in them has died down.
Jayantilal Gada, the producer of the recently-released Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh admits that he curtailed the release of his thriller and gave prints to only 1-2 per cent of the single screens. "And despite this, we have taken a hit of Rs 10 crore in our profits since we have to bear some of the expenses for every theatre we release our film in and today it's not possible to recover this money. We targeted the multiplex audience as they pay with plastic. In fact, if the promotions hadn't begun we might have held the film back," informs Gada, optimistic of recovering his cost from satellite and music rights and the overseas market.
Nitin Datar, President of the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India, grouses that it's an "unfair move", noting that while Kahaani 2 may have been appreciated more in multiplexes it should've released everywhere simultaneously to beat piracy.
"Dear Zindagi too wasn't screened in many single screens in the first and even second week. We can't force makers to give us their films but if audience turns their back, it will take us months to bring them back and eventually even producers and distributors will lose money. Even in areas where there are no multiplexes, they are opting for a limited release," he asserts, adding that he has advised members to update technology so people can pay by card. Santosh Bhatia, exhibitor for Premiere Gold Cinema, Dongri, notes that they charge just Rs 100 as compared to a Rs 300 multiplex ticket yet makers are preferring the latter because they have no change to pay them.
Manoj Desai, executive director of G-7 and Maratha Mandir cinemas admitted that his audience has reduced by around 45 percent but is confident that had Force 2 been released under normal circumstances, it would have packed in full houses in the single screens.
Trade analyst Komal Nahta opines that you can neither blame producers for safeguarding their interests nor single screen owners for protesting the treatment meted out to them. "You can't force filmmakers who are anyway making more multiplex-centric films. After demonetisation, entertainment is the last priority for the single screen audience because everyone is busy exchanging notes, visiting chartered accountants or queueing up at ATMs. Single screens have as good as shut down because even if they re-release an old film they have no collections to speak of. At the moment every producer is petrified about the shortage of currency notes," he says.
Producer Bhushan Kumar has pushed the release of his next, Wajah Tum Ho from December 2 to December 16. Earlier, Saansein had delayed its release from November 11 to 25. Wajah Tum Ho director Vishal Pandya admits the delay was because of the cash crunch in smaller centres. "We have worked on the film for a year and it would appeal to single screens who'd bring in the revenue. This way we also get more time for promotion," he reasons.
Demonetisation effect: Single screen theatres in smaller towns see fall in business
By Gaurav Laghate, ET Bureau | Updated: Nov 29, 2016, 12.17 AM ISTPost a Comment
READ MORE ON Small Towns | Single Screen | Demonetisation | Cinema
MUMBAI: Mukesh Kumar, a resident of Bettiah in Bihar, is a movie buff who never used to miss any movie released in his nearest film theatre.
However, he has not seen a single film since November 8, because he doesn't have cash to buy the Rs 50 ticket, thanks to the sudden demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.
The jury is still out on whether the government's demonetisation drive to combat black money will succeed, but the initiative seems to have created a digital divide in the cinema exhibition industry.
Single screen theatres in smaller towns where there is no facility for card payment have suffered a direct blow from the note ban while multiplexes claim that their business is not hit much and is bouncing back.
Most single screen owners in the country are staring at major losses with show cancellations and abysmal ticket sales. Rakesh Bairolia, who controls 35 theatres in Bihar and Jharkhand, told ET that collections are down to 15-20 per cent in his properties.
"At many places we have revised ticket prices " balcony from Rs 70 to Rs 40, and second class from Rs 50 to Rs 30, just to get people come to watch films. But they don't have cash, so how will they come," he said. "In big cities, you talk about credit cards and online payment; here we don't even have computerised ticketing in almost 95 per cent screens," Bairolia said.
Anil Bohra, who owns a small multiplex and a single screen property in Gujarat, said, "We have seen over 60 per cent drop in business. Cinema is luxury spend in areas where we operate. We will have to live with the situation till things normalise," he said.
Incidentally, it's a double whammy for the single screen owners as producers are recalibrating film releases with limited prints considering the hard cash crunch across the country. Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Dear Zindagi', for example, was released in just 1,200 screens this Friday.
Producers of Kahaani 2 and Befikre are working on their distribution strategy to release films in less number of screens. Ashish Bhandari, joint managing director of digital cinema services company United Media-Works that offers digital delivery of cinema to 330 screens in India, said for one week post the demonetisation announcement, the occupancy of single screen theatres in smaller centres had gone down to 5-7 per cent.
"Now it is slightly better but so far, from the logs that we have got, I can tell that more than 50 per cent shows have got cancelled because of no public," he said.
Ashok Dash, COO at KSS Miniplex, which operates 17 screens in smaller cities of Punjab, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Maharashtra, said, "Our business model revolves around screens in smaller towns at affordable prices, where most of the transactions happen in cash. My occupancy has come down to 5 per cent, while operational cost remains the same. My cost of running one show is Rs 4,000 and tickets we are generating worth Rs 500-700 only."
In fact, demonetisation has impacted the industry at a time when it releawas just coming out of an extremely poor second quarter, which saw a lot of films tanking at the box office.
"Things had just started to look better with Shivaay and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, and this order (demonetisation) came," said Rahul Puri, MD at Mukta Arts, which runs Mukta A2 Cinemas in 13 cities.
"We have seen 30-40 per cent impact on business in the last two weeks, but I hope it will be less, going forward. Our cashless transactions have improved from 8-9 per cent earlier to 14 per cent now," he said.
Puri said box office collection of Rock On 2' has been affected at least by 50 per cent. "Same with Force 2, which would have done better in single screens, but people had no cash," he said.
Interestingly, multiplex operators are not perturbed with demonetisation. Siddharth Jain, director of Inox Leisure, which has partnered with SBI to allow cash withdrawals at its 106 properties across India, said his company is completely supporting the demonetisation drive.
"Initially there was a slight dip in the footfalls, but that was more because people were busy in sorting out their finances," he said. But since then its cashless transactions have doubled to 70 per cent.
"Cash transactions have gone down but cashless have doubled. We are seeing that Indians love films and with Dear Zindagi, and things are coming back to normal," Jain said. Gautam Dutta, CEO at PVR Cinemas, said that while first week was a bit drastic, situation is much better now.
"Business is bouncing back, on Saturday we registered 74 per cent occupancy. When content is good, people do spend. Plus we have also doled out a lot of incentives, including up to 35 per cent discounts and complete waiver of the convenience fee, which is helping," he said.
"Now 82 per cent of our transactions are cashless," Dutta added.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/demonetisation-effect-single-screen-theatres-in-smaller-towns-see-fall-in-business/articleshow/55674526.cms
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