It has been nearly a month since India slipped into demonetisation mode. Businesses, across, have been affected without an exception. Even though the box office has just begun to recover, we know it will be a slow ride down that road. Most November releases have fared below expectations, and footfalls, over all, have seen a considerable dip. Naturally, single screens have felt the pinch harder. Fearing low collections, producers are now reassessing the release dates of their films which they'd blocked months in advance.

Rock On 2, which hit the screens on November 11, was the first big Hindi film to release immediately after the demonetisation drive. Despite a buy-one-get-one-free offer on tickets, the musical registered below par numbers. The animation flick, Chaar Sahibzaade: Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur, which released the same day, registered comparatively decent collections. That week's third release, Dongri Ka Raja, wasn't even in the running. Force 2 and Tum Bin 2 came a week later. While the former saw decent numbers during the opening weekend, the latter didn't make the grade. Fortunately, Dear Zindagi helped the business sense some relief from frightening box-office numbers. The Alia Bhatt-Shah Rukh Khan-starrer has brought in a ray of hope. All eyes are now set on Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh that opens today.

“There's a 50 per cent dip in collections in most territories as compared to what we see usually at this time of the year. A lot of cinemas are running shows on minimum capacity, which adds to their expense. When people can't withdraw even modest sums, how will they spend on movie outings? Luxuries come after necessities, right?“ rues producer Mukesh Bhatt, head of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India (FTPGI).

He adds, “What did the government plan for single screens and smaller multiplex chains that can't survive even when the times aren't as bad? An average weekend collection of Rs 40 crore has slipped by 50 per cent. Even Aamir Khan's upcoming release Dangal could take a hit, the difference might be felt.“

Clearly, not all movie patrons rush to cinemas after a long day at the bank queues. The demonetization drive, which initially didn't seem like it would affect Bollywood's basic modalities, seems to be taking a toll. Producers are now watching out for the box-office collections of December's two big-ticket movies, because the performances of these films would pave the way for releases slated from January 2017.

Mumbai-based distributor Rajesh Thadani says, “If Dangal doesn't perform well, most producers will be forced to reassess their dates. Not that they aren't doing it right now. For example, Wajah Tum Ho was pushed ahead. The impact of demonetisation is slowly wearing out, but it will take a while for the business to stabilise and recover.“

Sanjay Ghai, a Delhi-based distributor and cinema chain owner, points out, “Postponing dates will add to promotional costs and affect the producer's math. Recovery from films will slow down because a transformation like this takes long to settle in. In most centres, across the last month, weekdays have been weaker than weekends.“

Manoj Desai, the owner of single-screen theatres in Mumbai, has another issue at hand. “We don't get subsidies. While the tickets cost around Rs 100 each, people have been coming to us with Rs 2000 notes. Where will we find so much change to return? Even with low prices, we're finding it difficult to sustain,“ he sighs.

However, the picture is not entirely bleak. Hollywood film Doctor Strange registered good numbers, building on its young, multiplex-going target audience, familiar with the online ticketing infrastructure. Indore-based distributor Aditya Chowksey says, “Some Hindi releases had rank bad content. Even a regional film like Ventilator (which released on November 4) did far better business than the Bollywood fare. Doctor Strange held its own; Ae Dil Hai Mushkil continued its run, too. Good content has had takers even in bad times. Yes, the figures have seen an overall slump, but that's not entirely due to demonetisation.“

Kamal Gianchandani of a national multiplex chain says that he was surprised to find that his revenue hadn't been impacted as badly as he feared. “The use of plastic money has doubled up at chains like ours. People don't use cash even at food counters and parking lots. We were lesser affected because our patrons used digital wallets. But to say that a film tanked because of the economic drive alone is a bit much. If that was the case, international and regional films wouldn't have done well, right? It's time to look within and figure out why and where we are losing money,“ he sums up.