Bhansali's period drama and SRK's contemporary love story lock horns over screen time before the box office face-off
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 16, 2015)

A text message close to noon on Tuesday took everyone by surprise reiterating that 90 per cent of the single screen theatres were opting for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Bajirao Mastani over Rohit Shetty's Dilwale. Both the films open this Friday. Enquiries revealed that before their Eid release, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, on July 17, distributors Eros International had entered into an agreement with these exhibitors, booking the prominent single screen theatres across the country for their Christmas release, Bajirao Mastani. This was in anticipation of the competition posed by Star Wars --The Force Awakens which opens worldwide on December 18. The Hollywood franchise however will now arrive in India a week later, on December 25, but the Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone Priyanka Chopra period drama has to contend with the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol-Varun Dhawan-Kriti Sanon love story which was announced suddenly. “Shah Rukh probably thought that since Kajol and he were coming together five years after My Name Is Khan and Dilwale was reuniting Rohit Shetty and him after the super success of Chennai Express, the film would be the first choice for all exhibitors,“ points out Mehra.

But the actor-producer suddenly finds himself stonewalled by the agreement between the exhibitors and Eros which had faced a similar situation during the Jab Tak Hai Jaan and SOS: Son of Sardaar Diwali clash on November 13, 2012, and is reportedly in no mood to share screens. “As of today Dilwale will not be playing at my Maratha Mandir cinema where Shah Rukh and Kajol's Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge ran for 1000 weeks. But we have a meeting scheduled for Wednesday and are hopeful of a positive outcome,“ exhibitor Manoj Desai told Mirror, quick to add that the SRK-starrer will play in his Gaiety-Galaxy theatres since multiplex chains are not a part of the agreement and only have to promise equal number of shows with good timings to both films which interestingly have almost the same running time (Dilwale is 155 minutes, Bajirao Mastani 158 minutes).

Back in 2007, the Farah Khan directed reincarnation drama, Om Shanti Om, had come up against Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya and the latter had tanked immediately. However, Mehra points out that back then, releases were not announced months, even years in advance, there were fewer multiplexes and films had a longer shelf life. “Today, a film lasts a maximum of three weeks and does its best business during the first weekend, with opening day figures going up to Rs 40-45 crore for a big film like Bajrangi Bhaijaan. With two big films coming together, this figure will get divided straightaway and the film stands to lose Rs 60-75 crore from its first week's collection irrespective of merit. In the circumstances, expecting a lifetime's business of Rs 300 crore would be wishful thinking,“ he reasons, adding that this scenario will be an eye opener for future films like Shah Rukh Khan's Raees and Salman Khan's Sultan which are poised for another 'war' during 2016 Eid.

However, J P Chowksey, President of the Film Federation of India and the Central Circuit Cine Association, offers a completely different picture. He informs that this 'battle royale' was not supposed to happen initially. “Bajirao Mastani was scheduled for December 18 and Dilwale was coming a week later on December 25. But then some distributors in Delhi and UP started booking single screen theatres in these territories for two weeks instead of the stipulated one week run. When Shah Rukh learnt this, he decided to take on his rivals,“ says Chowksey.

He adds that in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and western Maharashtra both films have got equal number of shows even in single screen theatres. “Punjab doesn't have even one single theatre left and down South, Dilwale has got a bigger share. It's only in Delhi, UP and parts of Maharashtra that Bajirao Mastani is ahead. But there's still two days to go,“ he says. When asked to what extent single screens contribute to the business, he said, “Multiplexes contribute 65 per cent to the business while single screens are limited to 35 per cent but they are equally important. Unfortunately, there are only 8,500 such theatres remain across India. Multiplexes have only cropped up in the last 12 years while single screens have been there for 90 years. Unless we increase their number, the industry will shut shop in five years.“

Meanwhile, all eyes are on Friday with a lot at stake for both the films and the industry at large.SRK's marketing savvy and the curiosity over his reunion with Kajol is rivalled by Ranveer-Deepika's chemistry which sizzled in Bhansali's Ram-Leela. Remains to be seen who will have the last laugh.
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Even as the big box office clash between Bajirao Mastani and Dilwale inches closer, the makers seem to be increasingly getting embroiled in a tussle for maximum screen count
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; December 16, 2015)

Battle lines have been drawn, and it’s going to get intense. And dirty, perhaps. The upcoming Dilwale versus Bajirao Mastani clash has set off a tussle for single screen theatres, in what may appear as a repeat of the 2012 box office face-off involving Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Jab Tak Hai Jaan (JTHJ) and Ajay Devgn’s Son Of Sardaar.

When big- ticket projects take on each other, box office collections are as important as the number of screens. Devgn, at that time, had dragged Yash Raj Films (YRF) to court for allegedly misusing its dominance to deny enough single screen theatres to Son Of Sardaar — the film had released on nearly 500 screens less than JTHJ. According to sources, YRF had made a package deal — ‘arm twisting’ exhibitors into booking maximum theatres for JTHJ in return of their Eid release Ek Tha Tiger starring Salman Khan.

Action replay
Now, a similar scenario has emerged in 2015’s year-end contest. Eros International, which released Salman’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan, had apparently laid down a pre-condition before owners of single screen theatres owners — they had to screen Bajirao Mastani too. In 2012, Eros had been at the receiving end with Son Of Sardaar losing out to JTHJ in terms of screen count (and also box office collections). They are, at present, determined to have an upper hand over Dilwale makers, claim sources.

Trade analyst Amod Mehra says, “The theatre owners have no choice. They all signed an agreement before Bajrangi Bhaijaan’s release. Eros rightfully refuses to share timings. No exhibitor or Shah Rukh Khan had supported them (Eros) during Son Of Sardaar.”

Risky proposition
To get to the math, single-screen theatres still contribute a lot to the box office collections of a big banner film, despite the multiplex culture. And because the fortunes of single screen owners are tied to one film, unlike their multiplex counterparts that have other films running at the same time, they refrain from taking risks and upsetting distributors.

Exhibitor-distributor Akshaye Rathi, says, “The two films will ultimately balance out the number of screens that they get, since both are backed by big production houses and deserve equal number of shows. For instance, Dilwale may dominate the Kolkata region, but Bajirao Mastani will hold fort in the Delhi sector.” Rathi also points out that the two films have almost equal runtime (a little over two and a half hours), so both can get the same number of shows in multiplexes where there are screenings few minutes apart.

But with the ‘biggest Friday of 2015’ just 48 hours away, last minute adjustments and arm-twisting tactics are likely to come into the picture. Who’s got the edge? Incidentally, SRK’s production house, Red Chillies Entertainment is distributing Dilwale. Since this is the first film that they are independently releasing, they have to compete with veteran players on the field and sell their film to individual distributors. PVR Pictures is one of the distributors and there is buzz that Dilwale will take over most screens in the multiplex’s chains across the country as compared to Bajirao Mastani. Shah Rukh and his co-stars have had their film’s promotional events at the multiplex including launching PVR’s new brand of cinematic experience.

Advance bookings for both films opened on Monday and according to sources, there has been a brisk sale of tickets. Kamal Gianchandani, CEO of PVR Pictures, points out, “Dilwale has created a buzz, thanks to its music and promos. The sales are terrific. We are hoping for it to grow further.” Rajender Singh Jyala, VP Programming and Distribution, Inox Leisure, says, “Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol are back after a long time. The buzz is strong as expected which has translated into strong advance booking.”