As the Telangana-Andhra factions continue to battle it out, the ripple effects of this movement are now being felt by theatre owners in the city. With the release of most Telugu movies being shelved due to the volatile situation, theatre owners are beginning to feel the pinch as their ticket sales plummet.
A spokesperson from INOX, on condition of anonymity, admits that they anticipate a 30 per cent loss of revenue. “The maximum revenue for multiplexes in Hyderabad is netted from Telugu movies as they are major crowd pullers,” he says. “While things are looking alright for the next two weeks, owing to English and Hindi flicks like Avtaar, Paa and 3 Idiots, we are likely to lose revenue in January. Sankranti season is the time when most Telugu films release. With films like Arya and Saleem already put on hold, our revenue for the month may fall by 30 per cent.”
Devang Sampath, senior vice-president at Cinemax, anticipates a financial crunch of at least Rs 20 lakh per month once the interest in Avtaar and 3 Idiots wanes. “Right now we are sitting pretty due to the successful runs of Avtaar and 3 Idiots,” he says.“But income generated from regional films is our mainstay. So once Avtaar and 3 Idiots enter their third week, we’ll lose revenue as we will not have Telugu films to fall back upon. On a conservative estimate, I’d put the loss at around Rs 20 lakh a month.”
Cancelled shows have made matters worse for multiplexes. T. Srikanth, the general manager of operations at Prasads IMAX, admits to a loss to the tune of Rs 1 crore due to shows being pulled out. “We’ve been forced to cancel over 100 shows in the past two weeks due to the agitation and the bandhs,” he says.“As a result, we have already lost revenue worth Rs 1 crore. If the unrest continues into January and if several other Telugu movies are taken off screen, then sustainability might become a problem for us,” adds T. Srikanth.
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