Those who read our previous article would be aware of Endhiran‘s loss in few 3 to 4 small centers of Tamil Nadu. But stay calm, I’m saying this not because its a open secret but because what you are about know would be even more shocking.
Lets start with Baahubali 2
It sounds like a joke, Isn’t it ? . Baahubali 2 is 21st Century’s most watched Indian film. But it closed as a loss venture in one particular center in AP/TG. I’m forbidden from naming the center but I’m allowed to drop subtle hints. The center is ruled by the Nandamuri Clan (Late NTR, Balakrishna, Jr. NTR). Remember when Chiranjeevi clashed with Balakrishna earlier this year ? . Khaidi No.150 had clear lead in all centers but here, Gautami Putra Satakarni was ahead of Khaidi . That justifies the center’s position as Nandamuri’s fort.
Lets come back to Baahubali 2, the first part generated 22 Lakhs revenue in Nandamuri’s fort, the distribution was handled by an experienced sub distributor who also runs 3 theaters in the center. He was interested in buying Baahubali 2 as well. However this time, he had to face competition from a least experienced sub distributor who holds a grudge against him.
Main distributor demanded 27 Lakhs to give him Baahubali 2. But as expected his rival came forward and offered 28 Lakhs to sign the film. The betting competition escalated to a whole new level and in the end Baahubali 2 was signed for a whopping 36 Lakhs.
The experienced distributor however wasn’t upset in giving up Baahubali 2 because he knew betting anything close to 35 Lakhs will surely result in loss and his prediction more or less came true when Baahubali 2 hit the screens.
Closing revenue of Baahubali 2 stood @ Rs.35,87,000, thus resulting in a loss of Rupees Thirteen Thousand.
Who is to be blamed for the negligible loss ?
ARKA Mediaworks sold Baahubali 2 everywhere for huge sums but in most cases, they were worth the investment and looked recoverable. But in this case, the loss was because of rivalry, this least experienced guy was concentrating more on snatching Baahubali 2 away from a veteran that he forget that his bets may prove to be too costly to recover.
Next North America,
where Baahubali 2 was purchased for a whopping 75 crores, this again was a huge miscalculation as the 1st part collected only 35 crores share and with the revised sharing ratio in USA, recovery was almost impossible.
where Baahubali 2 was purchased for a whopping 75 crores, this again was a huge miscalculation as the 1st part collected only 35 crores share and with the revised sharing ratio in USA, recovery was almost impossible.
North American distributor Great India Films had smartly sold the film area-wise in USA to a certain set of exhibitors and recovered what he payed to buy the film. Its unpopular opinion but that’s the truth, Baahubali 2 was only marginally profitable in North America and a small section of exhibitors faced upto 15% loss.
Irony is, the losses don’t seem to have bothered producers. They are blindly thinking that the success of Baahubali franchise has expanded the market. The reality is Baahubali had unimaginable hype which is either very difficult or impossible to recreate and the 2nd part had unreasonable ticket prices even in centers which compromise of conservative audience.
Take the same Nandamuri fort for example,
Tickets were generally priced at a modest Rs.150, but Khaidi No.150 who was adamant in breaking Baahubali 1‘s opening day record demanded prices to be hiked to Rs.200. The hike is not only illegal but also compelled Gautami Putra Satakarni to follow suite.
Thus, the top 5 before Baahubali 2‘s release was
Baahubali 1 – 22 Lakhs
GPS – 19 Lakhs
K150 – 18 Lakhs
GPS – 19 Lakhs
K150 – 18 Lakhs
Jr. NTR's Janatha Garage, Mahesh’s Seethama Vakitlo & Pawan Kalyan’s Attarintiki Dharedi collected around 16.5/16 Lakhs approx.
Coming back to the sub distributor who faced loss in Baahubali 2,
this guy had demanded further ticket price hike to Rs.300.
this guy had demanded further ticket price hike to Rs.300.
This resulted in the unthinkable happening.
6 shows were scheduled in each theater (3 theaters release) .
But only 6/18 shows went houseful on the opening day.
6 shows were scheduled in each theater (3 theaters release) .
But only 6/18 shows went houseful on the opening day.
Thus, Baahubali 2‘s opening fell short of the 1st part by Rs.10,000
Baahubali 1 – Rs. 5.6 Lakhs
Baahubali 2 – Rs. 5.5 Lakhs
Baahubali 1 – Rs. 5.6 Lakhs
Baahubali 2 – Rs. 5.5 Lakhs
The 14 Lakhs difference in closing is because of 2 reasons, Baahubali 2 had super positive Word of Mouth and summer holidays helped in getting excessive footfalls in weekdays .
Big budget film producers overlooked the loss and assumed Baahubali 2 closing as an excuse to say the market has expanded. Truth is market remained the same, gross is increasing only because of ticket price hike. Hindi films run longer than regional films in North America because ticket prices were affordable.
Last month, when Jai Lava Kusa theater charting was happening, the main distributor made a ruthless claim, “This is Nandamuri Fort, when people can pay Rs.300 to watch Baahubali 2, surely they will pay Rs.500 to watch Jr. NTR on screen” and requested the sub distributor to hike ticket prices.
Under pressure from main distributor and Jr. NTR fan club head, the sub distributor reluctantly hiked ticket price to Rs.500 . Deal was signed for 24 Lakhs MG (Which means Jai Lava Kusa had to beat all films baring Baahubali 2 to recover rights price) .
Guess what happened ?
Jai Lava Kusa opened to terribly disappointing occupancy and it didn’t have a single a houseful show in Nandamuri fort.
Jr. NTR’s Nanakku Prematho collected Rs. 5.4 Lakhs (Ticket Price – Rs.150), that’s still his genuine best opener, Jai Lava Kusa barely managed to equal it despite tickets priced @ Rs.500 .
The same situation was there throughout AP/TG, Jai Lava Kusa managed to set new Non-Baahubali gross opening record but per screen occupancy was one of the lowest ever for a biggie. Courtesy of the wide 1700 screens release and hiked ticket prices.
Jai Lava Kusa faced 9 Lakhs loss which is a huge embarrassment since it happened in Nandamuri Fort. The loss is because of 2 reasons, first reason is rights was overpriced and second is people can’t afford to pay such unreasonable prices for tickets.
Baahubali 2 is an all time blockbuster, its an undeniable fact. Lets assume the losses in North America & one center in AP/TG are mathematical errors.
What about Jai Lava Kusa ? leaving Jr. NTR‘s paycheck, its a medium budget film then why was it priced above closing collections of Janatha Garage ?
Baahubali's success has unfortunately created a market expansion myth.
Baahubali's success has unfortunately created a market expansion myth.
Jai Lava Kusa is overall an average grosser but If those who faced huge loss were questioned they will say its a box office failure. No one can understand their sorrows behind the celebrations.
Producers are concentrating on creating more hype for their films to sell them for table profits, they end up forgetting that creating good content is equally important.
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