Showing posts with label Ashish Saksena. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ashish Saksena. Show all posts
Multiplexes bet big on Adipurush after dull fourth quarter
8:28 AM
Javed Farooqui (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; June 16, 2023)
Cinema exhibitors are betting big on actor Prabhas’ epic mythological film ‘Adipurush’ to bring back footfalls after a challenging fourth quarter that witnessed a drop in footfalls due to the underwhelming performances of films barring ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’.
PVR Inox Co-CEO Gautam Dutta said the multiplex chain has received a stupendous response to the pre-bookings of ‘Adipurush’. “The advance bookings for the first day of the release have been doubling with each passing day after we clocked over 1.50 lakh admissions yesterday,” Dutta said.
He said the film is truly a made-for-the-big-screen experience that would appeal to all age groups. “We are witnessing maximum bookings for the Telugu version after Hindi. While senior citizens would prefer to watch this movie due to its mythological angle, children would show interest due to VFX,” Dutta noted.
Made at an estimated budget of Rs 500 crore, the multilingual film released today in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada across 5,000 screens in India.
BookMyShow COO Ashish Saksena said the advance sales for the film crossed 1.5 million tickets on the platform. "While the Telugu version is naturally leading the charts on the platform in terms of ticket sales, Hindi is a close second. The 3D format is the most preferred format of watching the film on the big screen with over 72% of movie-goers opting for the immersive movie-watching experience," he stated.
Elara Securities SVP Karan Taurani said Adipurush will come as a respite for cinema exhibitors who have been facing dwindling occupancy levels, which are still below pre-pandemic levels. He noted that The Kerala Story has been the only silver lining for the industry.
"We expect a strong opening day in South India, as net box office opening there could be in the range of Rs 50–60 crore for dubbed languages, whereas Hindi too would be healthy at Rs 20 crore. In terms of lifetime domestic box office, we expect a net box office collection of Rs 350 crore to Rs 400 crore," he added.
Junglee Pictures CEO Amrita Pandey said June has always been a phenomenal release period over the years for youth and family movies. "We are now looking forward to the June and July theatrical releases performing well at the box office. The theatrical admissions for Zara Hatke Zara Bachke have been extremely encouraging for the industry."
Film business expert Girish Johar expects Adipurush to generate high footfalls across languages since this is the first major tentpole film that will be released after Pathaan.
"Another factor going in the film's favour is the fact that this is the holiday season for school kids. The story is deeply rooted in Indian culture, so it will attract family audiences," he said.
Johar also stated that the audience's preference for watching the kind of movies in theatres has totally changed. "Audiences are willing to watch content-driven films in theatres." They are not bothered about the genre or the cast of the film."
Dutta said that the recent trend of multilingual content being popular among pan-India audiences is holding true. "We would continue to see more of such movies doing well on the national scene," he noted.
According to a GroupM-Ormax Media report, the gross box-office collection stood at Rs 10,637 crore in 2022.
Anthology films gain momentum on the web
8:13 AM
Content creators, actors open up on this digital trend and what attracts them to the format that binds several short films together with a similar theme
Titas Chowdhury (HINDUSTAN TIMES; May 15, 2021)
The first decade of the 21st century witnessed a bevy of films offering a cluster of stories tied together by a common theme. Films such as Darna Mana Hai (2003), Dus Kahaniyaan (2007), I Am (2010), among others, introduced the Indian audience to this new format of cinema, known as anthology films.
While these films failed to create a stir at the box office, the concept gradually moved to the web space, where it is gaining both traction and prominence.
Following the critical success of theatrical release, Bombay Talkies (2013), filmmakers Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee and Zoya Akhtar took a plunge and helmed Lust Stories (2018), that proved to be a trendsetter. Since last year, the OTT space has witnessed an array of anthology films such as Ghost Stories, Unpaused, Paava Kadaigal, Zindagi inShort (all 2020), Pitta Kathalu and Ajeeb Daastaans, which went on to win acclaim for their motifs and treatment.
Filmmaker Shashank Khaitan who directed Majnu in Ajeeb Daastaans agrees that the format has generated a conversation. “It’s interesting because you get a combination of at least four filmmakers together and then they’re able to bring in extraordinary actors too. And that’s a treat for the audience. Bringing many actors in a feature film might be difficult as one might not be able to justify their characters,” he says.
Going ahead, there is an impressive slate of anthology films lined up for release including Ray (based on Satyajit Ray’s stories), Feels Like Ishq and Aisa Waisa Pyaar (both themed on love). Tamil anthology film Navarasa is also in the making.
Actor Ali Fazal who’ll be seen in Ray, says, “It’s interesting because we can weave in different stories and characters in an anthology film. This is an interesting way to collaborate with amazing filmmakers and talents. As an audience, I like the common string that connects all stories together.”
Actor Divya Dutta who was seen in Zindagi inShort says anthology films are crisp and offer different takes on a single theme: “Isn’t it more fun to watch four distinctly different films made in four distinct styles than one? An anthology film is all about the magic of a short film being told in that much time with an equivalent way of storytelling as much as a feature. It’s nice to watch a bouquet of stories told from the perspectives of different people.”
Ridhima Lulla, chief content officer, Eros Group, producer of Aisa Waisa Pyaar feels that “limited storylines” inspire and connect more with the audience. She says, “It provides a greater variety of content to the viewers within their preferred genre. It presents an opportunity to watch their favourite celebrities in diverse roles.”
Ashish Saksena, COO – cinemas at BookMyShow, believes the format has picked up steam recently with newer content making its way through OTT services. “With growing access to and adoption of OTT platforms, such films have gained more visibility amongst diverse audiences as creators get more liberty to experiment with both narratives and form,” he signs off.
Million tickets of Baahubali 2 sold already
8:19 AM
First day, first show of Bahubali in certain theatres in city costs Rs 1500 a stub
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; April 27, 2017)
The anticipation for Baahubali: The Conclusion has reached a crescendo. And if one had to put it to sheer numbers, it would translate to one million tickets a day. The film has registered the highest advance ticket sales just two days ahead of release, shattering the record of Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal.
Popular online ticket booking platform, BookMyShow, yesterday announced that it had already sold over a million tickets in just over 24 hours for the war drama, a 45 per cent hike from Dangal’s first day sales. What’s more, the bookings haven’t opened across all cinemas, especially in the South.
Ashish Saksena, COO Cinemas, BookMyShow, said, “Though Baahubali 2 is perceived to be loved by the South Indian audience, the response from Hindi-speaking markets has been highly encouraging. Once all South cinemas fix their schedules, e-ticket sales will soar further.”
Given the Baahubali craze with fans impatient to find out why Kattappa killed Bahubali, ticket prices are at an all time high. For Dangal, an Xmas release, it was Rs 800. But for a non-holiday IPL season release, the cost of first day first show is in the range of Rs 1200-1500 at bigger multiplexes like Inox and PVR. Baahubali 2 is releasing across 6,500 creens in India.
Kamal Gianchandani, CEO PVR Pictures, refused to comment. Exhibitor-distributor Akshaye Rathi says, “The overhead cost for any multiplex is high and in the past few months, not many films have done great business. A hike of 10-15 per cent is justified because in case of grand films like Baahubali, people are willing to overpay.”
A screen grab of a Friday 8 am ticket cost at PVR Icon, Versova
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