FINALLY A RAY OF HOPE IN THESE UNCERTAIN TIMES
The box office has once again got affected after all the January releases got pushed due to the third wave. The Delhi government shut down cinemas from December 28. The filmmakers feared that other crucial markets would also follow suit and hence, they postponed their releases. Thankfully, the third wave has turned out to be milder than the previous two waves. Cities like Mumbai and Delhi are clearly past their peaks. In the smaller cities and villages, the new Omicron variant reached at a later stage. Hence, these places are yet to reach their peak. Nevertheless, it is expected to happen before January ends and in February, the cases are bound to fall drastically on an all-India level.
Now that it’s clear that the third wave is not as devastating, everyone is expecting certain restrictions like the night curfew to go away from February 1 or at least from February 15. Until this imposition is there, big or even mid-sized films will shy away from releasing their films. Assuming from February 1, states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh etc allows shows at night and Delhi reopens cinemas, then some movies might release in theaters from February 25. If restrictions are lifted from February 15, then even the month of February would have no Bollywood release.
Till last week, the exhibitors were wondering how they’ll continue to function with no new film playing. Many contemplated shutting down for a month. However, the developments in the last 7-8 days have changed the minds of many. To begin with, the Marathi film, Nay Varan Bhat Loncha Kon Nay Koncha, directed by Mahesh V Manjrekar, turned out to be a crowd-puller. The film got into a controversy over its adult content and it helped the film to generate curiosity. The collections slowed down on the weekdays as the word of mouth was mixed. However, the film has not crashed, indicating that it’ll draw audiences in the second weekend too.
Up North, the Punjabi film Shooter is doing very well, not just in Punjab, but even in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. The Telugu films are continuing to release, due to lack of restrictions. Tomorrow, a Malayalam film, Hridyam, will be released and the advance booking seems superb. Kerala has not gone for a night curfew and hence, several Malayalam films are up for release.
And on Monday, a sudden announcement was made that Allu Arjun’s 2020 Telugu blockbuster, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, will release in Hindi in theatres on January 26. The much-loved film has never been aired on TV or digital in Hindi. Moreover, the super-success of Pushpa: The Rise – Part 01, also starring Allu Arjun, is fresh in everyone’s minds. Hence, the decision was taken to release Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo in cinemas. This has spread cheer among exhibitors in Gujarat, Rajasthan etc who were waiting for a big Hindi film to release. As for Maharashtra exhibitors, it’s a double celebration as a Marathi zombie film, Zombivli, would release alongside Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo on January 26.
Confirmed reports have also emerged that if Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo is a hit, more dubbed films would release in cinemas in February. At this rate, the exhibitors will be in a comfortable position, especially if audiences throng in huge numbers to watch these South entertainers.