Mega movies may take a while to hit the big screen as producers discuss release dates

Producers of big-budget films are thinking long and hard about when to release their films, now that cinema halls are reopening on October 15.

The central government on Wednesday said it would allow cinema halls to open, after a six-month pandemic break, with 50% seating.

D R Jairaj, president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, is convening a meeting of producers, distributors and exhibitors to decide on how to go about with the resumption of business. “We have to first understand whether producers are willing to release films, especially the big-budget ones, and whether the exhibitors are in a position to bear the additional sanitation costs,” he told DH.

Some theatre owners, especially in Hubballi and Dharwad, plan to screen old hits starring Yash, Darshan, Sudeep and Puneeth. The idea is to test the waters before they start screening new films.

D K Ramakrishna, president, Karnataka Film Producers Association, says 100% occupancy should be allowed. “We can follow all the standard operating procedures. Recovering costs is impossible with 50% occupancy.”

Karnataka has 650 single-screen theatres and 250 multiplex screens, according to K V Chandrashekar, president of the Karnataka Film Exhibitors Association. “Theatre owners have incurred a loss of about Rs 800 crore over the last seven months. Every month we lose about Rs 120 crore,” he says.

About 65% of total earnings go towards theatre maintenance, and the new sanitation rules put an additional financial burden on owners, he says.

Blockbuster-scale films ‘Roberrt’ and ‘Yuvarathnaa’ will not hit the screens right away. Tarun Sudhir, director of Darshan-starrer Roberrt, says the film is in post-production and the team is in no hurry, given the restrictions. “All sectors are affected. We don’t have any previous experience to go by. This is a peculiar situation,” he told DH.

Coming but not so soon

Sudeep-starrer ‘Kotigobba 3’, Duniya Vijay’s directorial ‘Salaga’ and Puneeth Rajkumar’s ‘Yuvarathnaa’ are ready for release. Santhosh Anandram, director of ‘Yuvarathnaa’, says big-budget film producers are wary. “We have to wait and see how things pick up. If everything goes well, ‘Yuvarathnaa’ may hit the screen for Christmas or Sankranti, not before that,” he says.