Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 24, 2019)

The makers of the Raj Kumar Gupta-directorial, India’s Most Wanted featuring Arjun Kapoor, reportedly based on the capture of India’s dreaded terrorist Yasin Bhatkal, have adopted an unconventional distribution strategy for the film which releases today. Mirror has learnt that Fox Star Studios have spoken to the national multiplex chains i.e. PVR, INOX, Cinepolis to avoid all early morning shows.

“Our audience will only venture to the theatres towards the evening and taking into consideration the high overhead costs for theatre owners, we didn’t think it is wise to run morning shows with minimal attendance. We are concentrating on shows post noon and towards evening and night. The two-hour run time will also enable us to get more shows despite the delayed start,” revealed a source close to the development. PVR confirmed the news.

When asked why the move is limited to only the national multiplex chains, the source informed that it is a targeted 1100-screen release and will be showcased primarily at multiplexes and limited single screens.

Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios, explained, “We wanted to build the film strongly on the perception and positive endorsements. Our distribution strategy has been a judicious mix of showcasing and cinemas, so as to maximize the potential to reach our target audience.”

Mirror had earlier reported that a few cinema chains were kept open round the clock for Avengers: Endgame, to maximize the revenue keeping demand among the audience in mind. So, this decision to screen the film only after noon has comes across as a surprise.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh informed that a festival film like that of a Salman Khan starrer or for that matter a lavishly mounted futuristic adventure fantasy like Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar’s 2.0, bring in the crowds early and collections start coming in from the morning shows. “But this is a film that is expected to grow and if word-of-mouth is positive, business will automatically escalate towards evening. It’s a good strategy,” he asserted.