Box-office collections had barely begun to see an up-tick when the fresh set of curfews were imposed in Maharashtra amid soaring Coronavirus cases. With this state imposing a night curfew, and Delhi continue to down the shutters of its cinema halls, losses are being incurred by not only film producers, but also theatre business-owners.

Manoj Desai, executive director of G7 multiplex and Maratha Mandir, says that the night curfew will impact business since late night shows were running to packed audiences. “It’s been a full house for our night shows within the permissible 50 per cent occupancy. Now we will have to stop that. A lot of viewers prefer the 9.30 pm show that ends at 12.00 midnight, but those shows have been cancelled. We don’t even have new releases, so we are airing reruns of '83, and Pushpa: The Rise - Part 01 among others,” he says, adding that the Allu Arjun starrer’s performance has been surprisingly pleasant. “Despite releasing on OTT, the film is going strong. We have around four shows of Pushpa, all of which have attracted large crowds.” 

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says that at the end of its fourth weekend, Pushpa earned Rs 80.48 cr.

Ranveer Singh’s 83 too, despite soaring cases in Mumbai, continued to pull crowds and clock numbers that match its previous week record. Adarsh reveals that it has crossed the Rs 100 crore mark at the domestic box office. A trade source says, “83 hasn’t fared as expected but due to the lack of other releases, it is enjoying a free run.”

Meanwhile, producers are revisiting the release dates of their films. As reported earlier, both Attack and Prithviraj are rumoured to be moving their film from the scheduled Republic Day release. Though there is no official announcement yet, trade sources say Shaabash Mithu and Badhaai Do will also revisit their dates. A new slate will be arrived at only after the ongoing wave is behind us.