Aval couldn't sustain in long run like Maya, the Nayanthara starrer may have been more family friendly but the genre was more dependent on young adults and couples . Aval is a super hit, no doubt but the content had scope for much longer and steadier run in theaters. The reason for the steady run being cut short is less repeat audience. Those who watched the film recommended it to their friends and relations but they themselves didn't consider watching Aval once more in theaters because of ticket prices.
CARPET BOMBING :-
The real effect of local body entertainment tax began to show up in 2017 November's 2nd weekend . There were 3 mainstream Tamil releases
Ippadai Vellum :-
Though trolled for his looks and acting, Udhay Stalin used to get
at least okayish openings. Audience responded more positively to Ippadai Vellum than Udhay's last 2 films but somehow opening was shockingly low.
If an actor's bad films generally gets okayish opening, shouldn't his above average films get at least similar openings If not better ?
Word-Of-Mouth for Ippadai Vellum was average to above which means it should have opened better than Udhay's last 2 films, but that didn't happen. 4 days opening of Ippadai Vellum was hardly half of Udhay's average 3 days opening weekends.
Ippadai Vellum's massive failure hinted that audience have become least tolerate to average films because of the new ticket prices .
Aramm :-
A section of movie buffs were always there to support niche films. Aramm got positive WOM from first show itself but picked up only in A centers. In its opening weekend Aramm grossed
3'Cs (Chennai Chengalpet & Coimbatore) - 4.5 crores
Rest of TN - < 1.1 crores
Rest of TN footfalls were shockingly low because audience weren't ready to spend much for a docudrama. Only a small section of audience supported Aramm. In 3 weeks, Aramm emerged as a sleeper hit in 3C's but remained low in Rest of TN.
Nenjil Thunivirundhal :-
No comments on this film as it bombed everywhere it released along with its Telugu version C/O Surya. Courtesy of the forgettable content.
Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru :-
Positive reports were circulating in trade circles right from the day Theeran filming began. Distributors weren't bothered about the result of Karthi's last 2 films and blindly trusted Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru. Except Chennai City & Trichy Tanjore, the film was sold on MG basis for 15 crores in TN.
Dreamwarrior Pictures's poor off line promotions however left distributors terribly disappointed. General audience weren't aware of the film's release in many centers.
Making things worse Theeran opened below Kaatru Veliyidai even in B & C centers .
For example in Tirunelveli Kanyakumari (TK)
Kaatru Veliyidai - 12 Lakhs
Theeran - 11 Lakhs
What makes these numbers look shocking is Mani Ratnam has a bad reputation among mass audience. They'll be aware of the release of his films but will mostly stay away from theaters. Kaatru Veliyidai was also facing stiff competition from Kavan which was still going strong in its 2nd weekend .
Theeran on the other hand had higher ticket prices and a much wider release. Word of Mouth was of course very much positive but the low opening had done enough damage. While distributors in 3C's will get good profits . Rest of TN (Except Trichy Tanjore) are expected to face 30% - 40% loss. Reason is low openings and footfalls because of dull promotions and new ticket prices.
The True Blockbusters of 2017 :-
Meesaya Murukku based on terms and Return of Investment is the most profitable Tamil film of 2017. The film is what's called a true blockbuster for Producers, Distributors and Theaters.
Vikram Vedha is the 3rd most profitable film of 2017 behind Meesaya Murukku and Baahubali 2. Like how in 2015 Thani Oruvan beat many biggie records in Chengalpet, Vikram Vedha broke records of films like Singam 3, REMO, Irumugan etc.
In July 2017, ticket price hike caused an uproar in social media initially but they calmed down because Meesaya Murukku & Vikram Vedha were worth the money.
The point is, ticket price hike in July made movie buffs panic only because ticket prices remained the same for 10 years. The sudden hike made audience uncomfortable but at the same time, they could still afford to pay for them.
"Never take generous people for granted, just because they are kind doesn't mean they don't have a breaking point"
I don't remember whose quote this is, but it definitely makes sense at the moment. Just because movie buffs accepted ticket price hike once doesn't mean they'll agree to have unfair hikes time and time again.
This weekend releases opened poorly not because of bad marketing but because of post LBET ticket prices. Annadurai stars Vijay Antony who was known for his no flop track record till this film's release . Thiruttu Payale 2 is a sequel to a 10 year old blockbuster film. The film's villain Prasanna got rave reviews for his performance but the film couldn't make enough use of the buzz. LBET not only eats into a film's revenue but also makes tickets unaffordable to middle class people.
Continue Reading
No comments:
Post a Comment