In an effort to break the monopoly of digital service providers, the Tamil Film Producers Council is considering bringing in digital projection equipment for theatres.
Stating that it was important to limit the powers that the digital service providers have over the theatres, TPFC treasurer S. R. Prabhu said they will bring in new players into the market. “When the strike ends and new movies start screening in theatres, all issues such as Virtual Print Fee (VPC), booking charges, and transparency in reporting BO collections will be resolved. Theatres make money via collecting parking charges and food/beverage costs. Why can’t they pay for their projectors too?”
Rejecting the reduced VPF offer made by Qube Cinema Technologies, he said that the theatres have to be more transparent. “The theatres shouldn’t sell movie tickets more than mandated by the government,” said Mr. Prabhu, adding, “There will be no shooting from March 16 and no outdoor shooting from March 23.”
‘Not against new players’
Qube Cinemas Technologies reiterated that they were not against new players coming in. “We are in no way opposing the entry of new digital service providers,” they said in a statement.
Well-known distributor and exhibitor, Tirupur Subramaniam said that they were not averse to working with a new player but co-operation would depend on the terms offered: “We have to see the terms and conditions offered to us. At present, the theatres have agreements with Qube Cinema running for a certain number of years,” he said.
Not all producers seem to be fully backing the TFPC. Further, theatre owners feel that breaking contracts overnight could be a costly proposition. “We need to wait and watch. We can’t break the agreement overnight as it involves a huge cost and risk (it can end up being illegal). These kind of technologies cannot be changed overnight,” added a theatre owner.
