WITH IPL AND POLLS, WILL THE BIG SCREEN SCORE?
We speak to industry insiders on whether the Indian Premier League and the 2024 general elections will affect the business of films at the box office
It’s that time again. In a year where a big-ticket T20 league coincides with the world’s largest electoral movement, the fate of theatrical films once again is set to face the doldrums, if only briefly. The ongoing Indian Premier League recorded its highestever viewership (350 million) recently. And with the Lok
Sabha elections set to take place later this year, the upcoming months appear uncertain for a slew of bigscreen releases.
There are murmurs that Kalki 2898 AD might not make it to theatres on May 9, its stipulated release date. “While there’s no official word from the makers, I have been hearing the film might be shifted to May 30 or Dussehra,” shares exhibitor Akshaye Rathi.
Close to 15 films are lined up for release in the next two months — including Do Aur Do Pyaar, Srikanth, Baby John — but trade expert Taran Adarsh notes that makers are avoiding releasing their films in this period. “IPL semi-finals and finals will definitely hamper box-office prospects. Films in the past did do well during IPL, but they were big-star films that made people want to go out,” he adds.
Director Amit Sharma, whose Maidaan released on Eid, is confident that people will step out for it. He says, “Elections could affect films, but it is a long weekend right now, and that’s the reason producers released Maidaan. People want to watch good cinema, and even school exams are over.”
For marketer Varun Gupta, the point of concern is the overlap between the IPL and cinema-going audience. “The viewership on any IPL match is around two crore — the number of people you need for a film to touch ₹200-300cr. So, there’s a lot of overlap. Because they are watching IPL every day, films are not their priority. There’s not a single big film releasing after Eid until IPL is over (May 26).”