In a latest development, film producers have announced an indefinite strike from April 3 if multiplex owners did not agree to their terms of 50:50 equality in revenue sharing for every film.
In a press conference on Tuesday, owners of major multiplexes including Big Cinemas, Fame, Cinemax, Inox, Fun Cinemas and Movietime came together on one platform and said that the producers were being unjust in their demands.
In turn, the multiplex owners have replied that they will not agree to the revenue arrangement proposed by the producers. Instead, they have come out with a new proposal that the revenue will be shared depending on the film’s box office performance.
“We are ready to pay more to the producers but their films must do well at the box office,” said Shravan Shroff, managing director, Fame India Limited. “If your film becomes a hit, take more. If not, take less. I think we are making a very reasonable demand. Ours is a computerised system. Every ticket sold is accounted for, and every producer knows how his film is doing at the box office, even in the middle of the night. So we feel it is a very fair system.”
Tushar Dhingra, chief operating officer, BIG Cinemas, said, “Producers claim that we take money for parking facilities too. This statement is not true because multiplex owners don’t own parking areas in 90 percent of places.”
At present, there are 240 multiplexes with 849 screens in India, with a capacity of 2, 27,084 seats per show.
— IndiaRetailing Bureau
