Click to play videoMumbai: The deadlock between film producers and multiplex owners is in its third week and according to industry estimates - the ongoing boycott costs individual multiplexes a loss of Rs 1.5 lakh every day.
It's been the worst week for the multiplexes since the strike began. The ticket windows wear a desolate look with no takers for the only Hindi release - a dubbed version of Kamal Haasan's Dasavatharam.
With the profit sharing ratio still being a bone of contention between film producers and multiplex owners - neither parties are willing to bow down at the negotiating table.
Saif Ali Khan who makes his debut as a producer with the forthcoming Love Aaj Kal believes that the producers are right in not compromising on their demand for a 50:50 revenue share.
"Both the sides have their grievances but the producers are feeling that they deserve more share which is only fair," said Saif.
Multiplexes are now choosing to shut down a few screens and cut down expenditure on staff salary, electricity and maintenance costs. Individual multiplexes are estimated to have lost over Rs 30 lakhs each already, and the figure is mounting with each passing day.
"I would assume it to be to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakhs a day, per cinema that one could be facing a loss up to. The difference is tremendous because theres hardly any Hindi movie releasing during this period," said COO, Fun Cinemas, Vishal Kapur.
"Occupancies we are doing, if earlier we would do 35 to 40 per cent of the available capacity, we are now doing about 15 per cent of our available capacity," he added.
Though producers do not face any immediate financial losses, the release dates for several big budget projects have been disrupted.
These include UTVs Main aur Mrs Khanna and Kaminey, Vashi Bhagnani's Kal Kisne Dekha, Boney Kapoor's Wanted, Eros International's Aladdin and Sajid Nadiadwala's Kambakth Ishq. Almost Rs 250 crores could be blocked due to the delay in the release of these films.
"Well I think actually for the producers, the movies are going to be released at some point of time, so technically there isn't really any loss. The fact is that there are a lot of movies that will have to be released together, once it all comes to a close. But till that time there isn't any loss that the producers are incurring, I think the loss is primarily with the multiplexes, because every week that they lose, is a week lost in revenue," said CEO, UTV Motion Pictures, Siddharth Roy Kapur.
With the IPL series taking all the attention, the producers may not be too worried yet about the delay in the release of their films. But come May 24 there might just be a lot more pressure on both sides to find a solution to what is become the biggest crisis to have hit the Hindi film industry in recent times.
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