The recent row between Bhool Chuk Maaf and PVR has brought to the fore many complaints from the producers about the national chains. One of them is that the makers are asked to pay if they want to put up posters or standees and to play trailers of their films. Girish Johar, producer and film business analyst, wrote on his social media pages, “Asking for monies to be paid for trailer playing, film publicity displays at their sites, cinemas which are already in red are further going downhill. With OTT onslaught sitting on their head, they should instead comfort producers & give them ease of doing business, so that more makers are encouraged to take risks & choose the big screen release instead… the exhibition community should avoid nailing their own coffin !!”
Single-screen exhibitors and industry stakeholders SLAM multiplexes for charging producers for installing standees, playing trailers: “These multiplexes have COMPLETELY destroyed the sheer fabric of the exhibition sector”
We asked Girish Johar to comment more on this aspect. He said, “The cinemas have started asking monies against showcasing film publicity, be it trailers, digital posters, video walls, etc. It is apparently one of the major sources of revenue for theatres. A certain set of producers have started paying for it. This puts the pressure on even other producers. Small-time filmmakers tend to give in. To each its own I feel. But there should not be a blanket rule for everyone in this regard.”
A multiplex official on condition of anonymity revealed how this model works, “They charge Rs. 10,000 per property roughly for it. But usually, they do a package deal. They’ll ask you to pay Rs. 15-20 lakhs. In return, they’ll not just install your film standee and digital poster but also play the trailer of the film, that too in 200-250 of their multiplexes. Sometimes, the deal also includes the film banner on the multiplex’s website or booking app. The producers include this spend under ‘marketing activity’. It’s an additional cost to the producer.”
The official continued, “Pre-pandemic, this used to happen very rarely. But post-pandemic, this has increased as everything is under the red. They realized this is a nice way to earn additional moolah, not realizing that they are killing the same hand that feeds them.”
A duty manager from a prominent multiplex said, “Many non-national chains don’t charge at all for posters or standees. We put it up for free. However, playing the trailer incurs a charge.”
Vishek Chauhan, owner of Roopbani Cinema in Purnia, Bihar, commented on this matter saying, “I have heard that the multiplexes charge. I am not sure whether they are doing it or not. But if they do, toh isse bada ghatiya kaam aur kuchh nahin ho sakta hai! If a shopkeeper sells Coca-Cola and decided to install its standee, is he going to charge for it from the soft drink brand? Of course not. This doesn’t happen in any business.”
He continued, “This is the reason why the multiplex business is so messed up in India. These multiplexes, especially PVR Inox, have completely destroyed the sheer fabric of the exhibition sector. It’s no wonder that in 1995, there were 25,000 screens in India before the multiplex era. 30 years later, the number has down to 9000.”
Producer Pahlaj Nihalani, who runs a revamped single-screen Nishat in Mumbai, lashed out at this practice. He said, “PVR Inox has been charging for it since the very start. Then, a lot of new producers came in. Also, many actors turned producers. These people had no qualms about paying for it. Soon, it became a standard practice. What is saddening is that there’s a possibility that your film might not play in some theatres where your trailer is being screened. A viewer has come to see ‘A’ film; he’ll see the trailer of ‘B’ film in the interval and decides to watch it. But then, the film might not get showcasing in that cinema hall. Isn’t that unfair to the producers and also to the moviegoers?”
He made it clear that in the single-screen era, there was never a question of paying to play trailers or install standees. “They never charged and even now, they don’t,” he added. “However, if the projection system in a single screen is provided by a third party like UFO, then they’ll charge.”
Pahlaj continued, “Single screens continue to have great relations with filmmakers. Sadly, the same can’t be said about the multiplexes. They squeeze money in every way possible from us. They are killing new talent and ruining the film business.”
He also said that this practice hurts makers but there’s no solution to it, “There’s no industry leader among producers who can talk about these things. Most of them have isolated fights. It happened with Dinesh Vijan (with Bhool Chuk Maaf). Earlier, Ronnie Screwvala was also alone when he spoke about VPF. His next film (Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota; 2019) didn’t get shows in some theatres as he went against them. Imagine if all the producers rise together and decide not to give films to them. Phir yeh log kahan jaayenge?”
Trade veteran Taran Adarsh, however, had a different point of view, “Today, everything is commercial. The multiplexes are allowing the space in their property to install the standee and are also playing the trailer on the screen. Hence, they feel that they need to be compensated because even they are paying higher rent. It’s a circle.”
He added, “I have seen standees being put up of OTT show. Their promo is also screened before the film or during the interval. The multiplexes obviously would charge for it. Why would they play for free?”
Vishek Chauhan, meanwhile, continues to have reservations on this model. He said, “Theatres should not be charging for all this. It’s a matter of pride to put up a poster in your theatres. That’s our primary job – to promote films. If films work, I’ll be at an advantage. And if I am asking the producer to pay for it, then nothing can be more shameless.”
More Pages: Bhool Chuk Maaf Box Office Collection , Bhool Chuk Maaf Movie Review
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