With the multiplex strike being called off, 45 Hindi films are set to hit the city screens in the next few months. What does that mean for Tollywood biggies slated for release? TOI reports Telugu Movie News
First the good news: with the stalemate between multiplexes and Hindi film producers coming to an end, more than 45-odd Hindi films are slated for release including big ones like Kambakth Ishq, New York in the next few weeks. The bad news: at precisely the same time, big Telugu films are also slated for release. The inevitable question now — will these big ticket Hindi films eat into Tollywood’s box-office collections at the multiplexes? Will Tolly town’s films find screens?
Suresh Babu, a top producer and exhibitor, feels Telugu films will not be affected in a big way. “There will be a minor cut in the collections of Telugu films at multiplexes,” he says, adding that Hindi film producers strategically planned the eightweek ‘boycott’ during the IPL season and got a good bargain from multiplex owners.
Strategic or otherwise, the end result of the multiplex strike is that a barrage of Bollywood films will hit city multiplexes, leaving fewer screens for local films. Devaneni Prasad, director of a city multiplex, assures that “Telugu films will get their due screen space. The clash for screens will be between Bollywood blockbusters and not Bollywood vs Tollywood,” he says
During the two-month long strike, city multiplexes derived their content from Telugu and Hollywood films. Two big Telugu films that struck gold in multiplexes during the strike were Billa and Kick. “Both films minted big money. Even upcoming Telugu releases will have their share of revenue if the films are really good enough,” says producer Aditya Ram.
A corporate honcho of a multiplex chain agrees that Hindi films are their mainstay, but adds, “We actually get more revenue from Telugu films than Hindi films. So we will increase the number of shows of a hit Telugu or Hindi film without being biased.”
Now, with films starring Ram Charan Tej, Allu Arjun and Vikram hitting the screens in July and August, some multiplexes seem to be in a catch-22 s i t u at i o n . However, producer M S Raju has a different take. “Star-studded Telugu films bank on collections from single theatres rather than on multiplexes,” he avers.
Only time will tell if the battle for screens swings in To l ly wo o d ’s favour in the weeks to come.
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