After a film-starved year, there’s finally a release calendar that theatre owners can be excited about.
Yash Raj Films (YRF), the production and distribution company that gave audiences blockbusters like Shah Rukh Khan's Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, the Dhoom franchise and Ek Tha Tiger, has announced the release of five tent-pole films.
Unveiling its content slate for 2021, YRF gave out dates of its upcoming ventures. The kick-off begins with Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar starring Parineeti Chopra and Arjun Kapoor, scheduled to release on March 19, followed by Bunty Aur Babli 2 on April 23.
After a month's gap -- May already has two big-ticket films: Salman Khan's Radhe and John Abraham-starrer Satyameva Jayate 2 during the Eid holiday -- YRF will release its big venture Shamshera starring Ranbir Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt on June 25.
On August 27, Ranveer Singh's Jayeshbhai Jordaar will hit the theatres, followed by Akshay Kumar's Prithviraj, which is scheduled for Diwali.
"There are five tentpole films that YRF has announced from Shamshera to Jayeshbhai Jordaar. Plus, YRF has not only held its ground in terms of releasing its films in theatres but now has also given official dates which makes it a big development for the exhibition industry," Akshaye Rathi, film exhibitor/ director, Saroj Screens PVT Ltd, told Moneycontrol.
Echoing this sentiment, Amit Sharma, MD, Miraj Cinemas, said, "Yash Raj Films have always been the trend setter. This gives lot of confidence to the exhibitors as well as to other big ticket films and also to films that are in production right now."
YRF's release calendar is surely giving a lot of confidence to exhibitors as Rathi believes that the financial year 2021-22 will be a terrific year for cinemas. He listed three main reasons -- huge pent-up demand, pent-up content and vaccine rollout. "And not just from Bollywood, there will be tent-pole content coming from Hollywood as well as the south film industry," he added.
Adding to this, Kunal Sawhney, SVP, Operations, F&B, Carnival Cinemas, said, "Now, other production houses will also follow suit by announcing their slates. Someone had to make the first move. This will give confidence to Hollywood studios in deciding their Indian calendar."
According to Rathi, collections from Bollywood alone will surpass the 2019 record box office number which stood at Rs 4,400 crore.
"People were deprived of outdoor entertainment for a year. And if you look at international markets like China, movies after reopening of theatres have done strong business," said Rathi.
He rightly points out the China market where local ventures like Detective Chinatown 3 generated strong traction with the audience. In fact, the film raked in US$424 million on its opening weekend, the highest any film has collected in a single market so far. Avengers: Endgame had pulled in US$357 million during its first weekend in the US in 2019.
Rahul Puri, MD, Mukta Arts, welcomed the YRF release calendar saying, "YRF's belief in the big screen experience will help other producers as well the audience feel confident about coming back to cinemas."
When it comes to the Indian film space, Bollywood's contribution is one of the highest to the overall box office business.
Hindi films contribute 43 percent of overall box office revenues, with regional films making up 44 percent and Hollywood accounting for 13 percent, according to an EY 2020 report.
In 2019, only 14 percent of overall film releases were Hindi movies but their contribution was as high as 43 percent. Compare this with regional content, which accounted for 80 percent of film releases during the year, but with a contribution of 44 percent.
Hence, a lot is riding on upcoming ventures by YRF like Jayeshbhai Jordaar which is estimated to earn Rs 170 crore and Shamshera which is likely to pocket Rs 135 crore, among others.
Betting big on the upcoming ventures, Rathi said the theatre business will see strong profits.
After Master's release things are looking good for the exhibition space with both multiplexes and single screens seeing profits.
Among the top multiplex players, PVR expects to reach pre-Covid levels in FY 2021-22 and estimates to exceed pre-Covid levels by the second half of FY 2021-22. It currently operates 835 screens. Its seven screens in Jharkhand continue to remain shut.
Theatres reopening everywhere except Jharkhand, and states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Delhi, Gujarat, Telangana, Karnataka allowing theatres to operate at full capacity are painting a rosy picture for the exhibition sector.
"While many screens shut shop permanently, those who were able to sustain will see strong business coming back and will see business better than pre-COVID times," added Rathi.