Pre-release and Post release status in movie biz : Part 1 :-

RECORD RELEASE DOESN'T MEAN MORE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WILL WATCH A FILM :-

With USA Premiere shows of the Mahesh Babu starrer set to begin in a couple of hours, Insplag believes its the right time to discuss few important things. There used to be a time when fans used to keep records of in how many centers their favorite actor's film completed 50 days, 100 days,150 days, 175 days, 200 days, 250 days, 300 days etc. Today, a film's success cannot be measured with that kind of parameter.

Instead of the records fans used to brag about after a film's success, now they celebrate before release itself with new kind of records (location count, screen count, shows count). This has created a new prejudice that only record release can ensure record collections.

Couple of days back, Bharat Ane Nenu's USA Distributor Great India Films refused to bow down to the pressure from Mahesh Babu fans who wanted Bharat Ane Nenu to release in more no. of locations than Agnyaathavaasi (576 locations).

For fans, record release is pride and kind of a pre-release victory but in business point of view, a distributor can't afford to release in unheard no. of locations If its not economically viable.




Pawan Kalyan's Agnyaathavaasi USA premiere gross might be a Non-Baahubali record but the 576 locations release charted by LA Telugu was a huge miscalculation. Here is why,

276 locations Premiere Gross - $1.25 Million
Rest 300 locations Gross - $250,000

Among the 300 locations, 50 locations either had less than 4 tickets sold or faced show cancellations and each of the remaining 250 locations contributed less than $1,000.

Which means the ideal size of release for a Telugu film is 275 locations. Even Baahubali 2's unprecedented 400+ locations in USA resulted in losses for exhibitors in over 50 locations despite being a Multilingual release.

Having earlier released Athadu, Pokiri & Aagadu (Only New Jersey & New York) Great India films are well aware of Mahesh's USA market. Bharat Ane Nenu is the 4th Mahesh Babu film they are distributing in USA. 

Bharat Ane Nenu USA release has been charted in 320 locations which is more than the ideal size I've mentioned. Great India films are likely to lose the money spent on VPF and hard drives, what made them go ahead with risk of releasing in 50 extra locations despite their experience in Baahubali 2 distribution is Avengers : Infinity War. The superhero film's presence will ensure Bharat Ane Nenu's 2nd weekend gross will be negligible or nil, so the distributor wants to make the most of it in 1st week itself.