It looks like Baahubali: The Conclusion was probably the best thing that happened to the film industry this year. Amid many disappointments in the first half of this year, it was SS Rajamouli’s second take on Baahubali that proved to be the saving grace for both distributors and exhibitors.
Concurring with this fact, Rahul Puri, MD of Mukta Arts said, “We got 20 percent of our entire yearly revenue in just about 6 weeks of Baahubali’s run.”
The company reported its earnings for the first quarter of 2017 during which Mukta Arts’ exhibition business almost doubled its revenue. This was on the back of a strong content pipeline which lifted the exhibition segment and increased margins.
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“Exhibition business is strongly related to the quality of content in theatres. Quarter one had Baahubali 2 that did phenomenally well and that helped to boost the entire space,” said Puri.
At a time when exhibitors and distributors are having a tough time as big-budget films are finding it difficult to bring back audience to theatres, Baahubali: The Conclusion proved to be a game-changer. According to a few producers, exhibitors and analysts, Baahubali 2 will inspire filmmakers and investors to mount more ambitious and bigger budget films.
A Box Office India report suggests the first half of 2017 has been a poor one with seven films succeeding and only one film, Baahubali: The Conclusion, standing above all. The film is the biggest blockbuster this century as it sold over 5.25 crore tickets in the Hindi language.
If only Hindi films are taken into account then Badrinath Ki Dhulhania fared well at the box office, it was the only super hit film, the report said. The other hit film was Akshay Kumar-starrer Jolly LLB 2, while Irrfan Khan’s Hindi Medium scored only in the metros. Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Raees performed well overseas but was weak at the Indian box office. Films like Tubelight and Kaabil made money for the makers but distributors suffered huge losses.
In the nine months this year around 24 big-budget films have flopped, as per a media report. After the disappointing performance of Jab Harry Met Sejal and Tubelight, film trade analysts are saying filmmakers are under the impression that superstars can sell bad content but looking at the current scenario it seems it doesn’t work that way. It is important for the content to speak for itself.
