The second coming: Baahubali 2 is a goldmine even before release
‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’ will match, if not exceed, the expectations generated by its blockbuster predecessor will only be known when it hits the screens on April 28. Yet, the sequel to the epic fantasy directed by SS Rajamouli has already been declared a gold mine by experts in the movie trade.
“For a film like Baahubali, you just have to announce the release date. That’s enough,” said Atul Mohan, editor of trade magazine Complete Cinema. Mohan expects Baahubali 2, which cost ₹250 crore to make, to be released across a record 6,500 screens in its Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam versions. The maximum screen count for a bigticket Bollywood film is 4,500.
Mohan estimates the film to cross the ₹100-crore mark on its opening day in the four versions put together.
The first part of Rajamouli’s war epic had earned in excess of ₹500 crore worldwide when it released in 2015.
Independent trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai says the new film is easily one of the most profitable film ventures ever even before release. Producer Arka Mediaworks has made ₹250 crore from selling pan-India distribution rights, and an extra ₹100 crore will come from the sale of overseas rights.
With the basic investment already recovered, the ₹78 crore gained from satellite television rights means the movie has already turned in a profit. This includes ₹50 crore from the flagship television channel of Sony Pictures Networks for the Hindi version and ₹28 crore from Star India for the regional language versions.
While Sony and Star will also screen the film on their online video streaming platforms Sony LIV and Hotstar, respectively, the producers have retained a portion of the digital rights and are in talks with other platforms.
The Baahubali team that had partnered with character entertainment company Graphic India to take the story beyond movies to original comic books, novels, animation and video games should be able to make ₹10 crore from these ventures, says Pillai.
Music rights contribute 5-10% of a film’s revenue today and will, in this case, go to music composer MM Keeravani, who holds the rights as part of his payment.
According to Utpal Acharya, founder of film production, distribution and marketing company Indian Film Studios, the regional language promotion of the film is likely to cost ₹3-4 crore while another ₹7-9 crore will go into pushing the franchise in Bollywood.