Only nine days to go for the Eid weekend (starting June 23) and theatres in Tamil Nadu are still unsure of the Tamil films slated to release during this lucrative four-day holiday period. As per trade reports, STR’s AAA , Jayam Ravi’s Vanamagan and Selvaraghavan’s long overdue Nenjam Marappathillai have been scheduled. Theatre bookings are yet to start, and there are doubts whether all three will release.
At the same time, other language films are also fighting for screen space. The Eid releases that have already started bookings are Salman Khan’s Tubelight and Allu Arjun’s DJ ( Duvvada Jagannadham ). Vijay, director of Vanamagan , says, “We have confirmed our release in advance and our film is censored with a U certificate. We have applied for tax exemption, and hopefully we will get it before the GST regime starts from July 1.”
No plan in place
Much of this trouble can be avoided if filmmakers choose to plan their release dates in advance. The announcement of GST from July 1 has woken up the industry. Films that have received tax exemption are frantically trying to release soon. And this Friday (June 16) seven small-budget Tamil films in the ₹3-5 crore budget are hitting the screens.
SR Prabhu, eading producer and treasurer of Tamil Film Producers Council, made a valid point on the importance of registering a release date in advance. He said, “Today, the most important thing in filmmaking after the script and the actor’s dates is to decide on the release date in advance. TFPC has initiated talks to register the release date of a film in advance. It helps to avoid unnecessary competition, and once we know the release date of the biggies, the other films can plan their release accordingly.”
How other industries work
In Kollywood, the giant egos of actors too create a problem over release dates, especially during festival dates. In Hollywood, once the script is locked, release dates are announced in advance and they also take the global market into consideration. For example, the fantasy big-budget sci-fi action thriller Transformers: The Last Knight is having its world release on June 23. But in India, they have pushed it by a week to June 30, to avoid a clash with Salman Khan’s Tubelight .
And in Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan set an example when he advanced the release of his Imtiaz Ali-directed Jab Harry Met Sejal , (JHMS) by a week from August 11 to August 4, as Akshay Kumar announced his Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (TEPK) on August 11. Gaurav Verma, chief revenue officer at Red Chillies, says, “I believe the release date is an important factor for a film’s success. Our marketing campaign and awareness are at a peak during the opening weekend, which also has the biggest contribution to overall box-office collections. We have advanced JHMS by a week as Shah Rukh’s movies enjoy worldwide love and support and will get the advantage of both the Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day weekends.”
However, leading exhibitor and distributor S Pictures’ Srinivasan says, “It is almost impossible to fix an exact release date for hundreds of small Tamil films releasing every year. It may work only for a big-hero film.” The buzz is that once there is clarity on GST, the number of films will come down and releases will get streamlined.
