Summer is always considered the best season for cine industry to unleash much-hyped movies under big banners. It is also a congenial time for emerging moviemakers to try their luck. Particularly when theatres are decidedly successful in setting their cash registers ringing.
In some ways, history is repeating itself this year too.
However, the reduction in ticket prices has not given any phenomenal boost to the theatre goers’ count, according to f Tiruchi Film Distributors Association president, A. Joseph Francis. “People don’t mind spending money for the movie they want to watch. Quality movies are overwhelmingly patronised here. Ticket rates have nothing to do with increasing sales. It has only affected many theatre owners financially.”
The last three months have seen a deluge of films under a host of banners including a lot of big banners like AVM’s Sivaji, with Rajnikanth in lead. Several movies have, in fact, lined up for stiff competition this summer. The response, theatre owners endorse, has been better than last year.
“There is no specific reason for increase in viewers. Cinema is a major form of entertainment and the craze is only increasing with each passing year,” says Mr. Francis, whose recently reopened cinema hall ‘Cauvery’ witnessed two consecutive smash-hits ‘Pokkiri’ and ‘Unnale Unnale.’
His group, which has recently taken Kalaiarangam on lease, is glad about the holiday release of ‘Spiderman 3’ in Tamil.
Though sequels aren’t much hit with local audiences, the Spiderman series are a runaway hit with kids.
International release of Spiderman always targets holidays across the globe –— a major reason for their successive hits, remarks Mr. Francis.
Seasonal hit
Yet another seasonal hit is the Prithviraj-starring ‘Arpudha Theevu,’ a comical storyline based on Gulliver’s Travels with appealing graphics, which have gone down well with kids. “Though the trailers of the movie weren’timpressive, the slapstick comedy has struck a chord with the young viewers. The timely release too has helped to make it big,” a theatre manager notes.
Surprisingly, the month-old releases including ‘Mozhi’ and ‘Paruthiveeran’ –— a non-commercial genre of Tamil cinema –— are still doing brisk business. Theatre administrators feel that the business of these movies doubled up from mid-April, apparently due to the start of holiday season. Their prophecy doesn’t seem to have gone off beam.
Divya Sundaresan, a final-year student reiterates: “There was so much hype about Mozhi and Paruthiveeran only a week after their releases. I was waiting for my exams to get over and managed to watch it a week ago.” Other new releases including ‘Chennai 6000028,’ ‘Parattai Engira Azhagusundaram,’ with Dhanush in lead, and ‘Naan Avan Illai,’ a remake of ‘Gemini’ Ganesan starrer, have given a commercial lift to several theatre owners. When it comes to the success of movies, summer tends to give theatre owners a reason to rejoice even while the public sweats its out!
S. AISHWARYA
Printer friendly
page Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
