These days, whenever I get a call from one or the other overseas distributor saying that one has bought a particular film's rights in the USA and that one'd like to send a press note informing about the screening, so that local exhibitors can buy the film. Still, it's to be noted that most films will end up in losses to the overseas distributors.It's all the same braggadocio by the moviemakers - that their project has crazy combination and/or good music and/or comedy, and that it'd break all records in Andhra Pradesh and outside India too! How far can such statements be true, when 90 per cent of movies released in the USA are ending up as damp squibs.Though the distributor might make some money at times, the exhibitor will lose eventually. For example, Bujjigadu came with a lot of promises as it was directed by Puri Jagannath. The film was a disaster for the distributor as well as to to the exhibitor. Similarly, Raviteja's Krishna was one of the highest grocers in the recent times, but his Baladoor that followed was a disaster abroad. Now, with the combination of Puri and Raviteja, people say that the producer was demanding more than a crore of rupees as the selling price of abroad rights, and he might be happier too.
Venkatesh's last hit abroad was Malleeswari; his Aadavaari Maatalaku Arthaale Verule...! ended up with a loss of nearly 20 lakh rupees! Even if we forget the film Tulasi and its totally bad BO result abroad. Now, it's heard that his ready-to-release film Chintakayala Ravi had crossed the one crore mark for the abroad rights. ...Several other films were disastrous too: Pandurangadu, Hare Ram (for the exhibitors), the list goes on... like Ankith, Pallavi, and Friends. Victory, Kathanayakudu, Parugu, Ullasamga... Utsahamga..., while only films like Krishna, Mantra, Gamyam, Ready, etc. made decent money overseas in this year so far. Some films were sold in the name of popular producers or directors who just lent their names to the product without paying a single penny but will get a share in the profits, so that people think it is good film and buy. However, all said and done, the exhibitors will end up in losses after the release, even if the distributor might eventually make some money. Recently, an exhibitor in the NJ bought a film's overseas distribution rights seeing a popular name and ended in loss eventually. The irony is that the same exhibitor bought another film's rights for astronomical price, seeing another producer's name associated with this film.
Market and its potential
Any star-studded film in Telugu will have a "safe bet" of 40-50 lakh rupees approximately, more than which would be a problem for both the distributor and the exhibitor. If the producer is so much confident about the product as to release it on a percentage basis, there'd not be any loss for both the parties. However, our producers do not want to take that risk most of the time and they'll just want the quick buck and want to see the table profit before the release of the film. On the other hand, a low-budget film with less-known cast and a new director, even from a big producer, can have a risk-free investment of 5-15 lakh rupees.One should remember that all small films cannot be Happy Days - there's a Victory or Ankith, Pallavi and Friends for every Happy Days! Similarly, every Krishna may have a Baladoor, every Pokiri a Sainikudu or Atithi, or every Sree Ramadasu a Boss or Don as its successor (now for the King they asking more then a Crore) . Similarly, a Gudumba Shankar or Balu might eventually be followed up by a Jalsa. If one takes a look at this picture, one can understand it's a blind gamble sometimes.
Problems and risks
The biggest problems to Telugu films releasing overseas comes in the form of theater quality and rentals. Most Indian films do not release in good theaters. Good theaters in major metro areas such as New Jersey, San Jose (CA), or Chicago (IL) are owned by corporate companies, which means 40% of gross collections are taken away by them, plus a minimum tax of 7% is levied on the gross. After the first week, their share would be 50%! Thus, the distributor may end up with less than 50% of the gross collections, which means a break-even is possible when the exhibitor in such major cities can make at least 150% of the investment! (For any big budget movie this two weeks are crucial as from the third week usually the film will be coming in web, a pirated copy which will definetly hamper the collections, our producers never talk about that anyways) Imagine the risk of putting in money without having seen the film, or even possibly knowing the story! Can some crazy combination save one's investment?! How many times did a so-called crazy combination click anyway?!
...All these distributors and exhibitors pouring in their hard-earned money into films - whose potential or shortcomings are totally out of our scope of knowledge - and losing money most of the time makes me feel sad. That's the only aspect that inspired me to write this piece of article, and I don't have anything against any distributor, exhibitor, or producer/director, in particular! But, do watch your step, friends, before you tumble into neck-deep cold water!
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