• Big films will not come for 3-4 months, Lalsingh Chaddha – also alarm bell for KGF-2
• Films releasing in November – December 2022 may also slip
The third wave of Corona, which came in early 2022 till 2023, has completely spoiled the release calendar of both Bollywood and South cinema. 14 films scheduled for release till April 2022 may have to push their release dates. It started with the postponement of the release of RRR, Radhe – Shyam and Prithviraj, which were scheduled in January. About Rs 1100 crore of the industry is at stake on these 3 films alone. At the same time, if we look at the films till April 2022, the industry has spent Rs 2125 crore on 14 big films. The makers are in no mood to spoil their earnings estimates by releasing it in a hurry. The release of all the films which were scheduled in January has almost been postponed. If the situation remains the same, then the release of films releasing in February and March 2022 will also be postponed. Big films expecting to earn huge amount will now have to wait a long time for release. Shooting – Post production is stopping, its effect is on the films coming towards the end of the year.
What is the situation right now?
Cinema halls are closed in Delhi, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Bihar. Theaters are running with 50% capacity in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal. Night shows have stopped in most states including UP, Gujarat. In view of this, the release of four films Jersey, RRR, Radhe-Shyam and Prithviraj has been postponed.
Now to earn so much, normal occupancy is needed in theaters all over the country. Unless such circumstances happen, there will be no thinking about the release of these films. Yusuf says that all the stakeholders, producers, distributors, exhibitors, overseas distributors of the film industry will not stick to their release date. If you want good income, then everyone has to bring change. Now no film is going to release in January. After that it would take three to four months to set everything up anew. Atul Mohan, editor and trade analyst of trade magazine ‘Complete Cinema’, said that the experience of Bollywood for the last two years has been that cinemas close first but then open in the last. In Maharashtra, 100% occupancy never came after Covid. In such a situation, no producer sitting with a big budget will make haste.
Right now, the possibility of the release of big budget films till April 2022 seems difficult. The rescheduling of big films will have an effect on other small films. There will be some mid budget films back and forth. Some will go over OTT. Re-shooting and post production have come to a halt, which means the release dates of upcoming films may also get re-shuffled at the end of the year.
Important Cinemas have been closed in Delhi and in some big cities of Haryana. Their share in the film business is 10 to 15%. If a film expects to earn 100 crores, then 10 to 15 crores is available from here. Obviously no producer can ignore this territory. Cinemas have been closed in Bihar, half capacity in Bengal and Tamil Nadu. At present, only wait and watch, no producer will even think about the new date. When the whole atmosphere is over, the panic will end and it will seem that there is no possibility of any restraints coming only then will he take the risk of release.
2022-01-09
