The weekend gone by has spread cheer in the exhibition sector, thanks to the excellent performance of Deadpool & Wolverine and also Dhanush’s Tamil film, Raayan. Kamal Gianchandani, Chief Business Planning & Strategy, PVR INOX Limited, spoke exclusively to Bollywood Hungama on behalf of the Multiplex Association of India (MAI) and PVR Inox about this and a lot more.
EXCLUSIVE: Kamal Gianchandani ECSTATIC as Deadpool & Wolverine is the second biggest ‘A’ rated grosser of all time; also speaks on Stree 2-Vedaa-Khel Khel Mein’s clash: “There’s enough capacity to accommodate them. We don’t see any problem”
Kamal Gianchandani began by saying, “Before Kalki 2898 AD, we had films like Munjya, Srikanth, etc that performed well at the box office. But since a lot of films got shifted due to the elections, IPL, World Cup, etc., the first quarter was soft for cinema exhibition. But this quarter began with Kalki 2898 AD and the momentum has been carried forward by Bad Newz and Deadpool & Wolverine. Deadpool & Wolverine has smashed all records. It is the second highest-grossing A-rated film of all time, even pre-COVID. Even globally, it has done massive numbers. Post-COVID, in India, it is also the fourth biggest grosser of Hollywood after Avatar: The Way Of Water (2022), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2021). Also, these films were U/A rated.”
Kamal continued, “This week, in particular, was a huge one not just thanks to Deadpool & Wolverine and but also Raayan. Hence, Q2 looks strong. The upcoming Hollywood and Bollywood films also seem promising. And of course, regional cinema is exceptional this year especially Telugu with Pushpa 2, Devara and Game Changer, expected to come out later this year. Hence, we expect a strong Q2, Q3 and Q4.”
Besides the aforementioned films, even films like Kill, Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 2 brought audiences to cinemas. Kamal Gianchandani agreed, “Kill is definitely the sleeper hit of the year. The action and storytelling were exceptional. That it was backed by Dharma created a lot of curiosity. I am glad that commercial films with newcomers are doing this level of business. Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 2 also did well at the box office but that was expected out of them. Deadpool, meanwhile, has exceeded the expectations.”
Raayan, meanwhile, hasn’t got a release in the national chains (PVR, Inox, Cinepolis) in the non-South markets. When asked for its reason, he replied, “It’s something the producers would be in a better position to answer. All we can say is that we love to show all our films to our audience.”
Meanwhile, all eyes are now on August 15 when Stree 2, Vedaa and Khel Khel Mein will arrive in cinemas along with Double iSmart, starring Ram Pothineni and Sanjay Dutt, Vikram’s ambitious saga, Thangalaan and Ravi Teja’s Mr Bachchan. The single-screen exhibitors have expressed their anger towards this clash.
Kamal Gianchandani, however, stated, “This is not the first time a clash is happening on big holiday dates. We have enough capacity in the country and within PVR Inox to accommodate three Hind films and also releases in Tamil and Telugu as well. We don’t see any problem. We are excited for all of them. We wish them the best.”
He remarked, “The week has so many holidays. There’s Independence Day on August 15 followed by Raksha Bandhan on Monday, August 19. We hope people watch the film of their choice and they come back again to watch the other two movies as well. And they also watch the regional releases. In short, we are hoping that people use these holidays to keep coming back to cinemas.”
Last year, during the Independence Day week, the multiplexes in India created a record by serving 2.10+ crore moviegoers, the highest number ever seen in a weekend. Does Kamal Gianchandani expect a repeat of the scenario? He smiled and said, “Anything is possible in these kinds of weekends. Fingers crossed and we are hoping for the best.”
A discussion with a multiplex senior individual is incomplete without the mention of ticket prices, more so after reports came in June that Mukesh Bhatt, Karan Johar and other producers held a meeting with the MAI to speak about it.
On this, Kamal Gianchandani commented, “We keep practising variable ticket pricing in our cinemas. We are quite comfortable with the way ticket pricing is currently. During the meeting that took place in June, we discussed many points pertaining to the benefit of the industry. But I don’t remember any discussion on ticket prices. My sense is that most people are comfortable with our ticket prices.”
More Pages: Deadpool & Wolverine (English) Box Office Collection
, Deadpool & Wolverine (English) Movie Review
, Deadpool & Wolverine (English) Movie Review
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