Release date playing part in failure of Telugu films?

A film’s success often depends on the timing of its release. You can have a good script, great acting and excellent direction, but if the timing is not right, even the best of films can bomb at the box office, like the recent Om Namo Venkatesaya. The Nagarjuna-starrer got good reviews, but did not do well at the box office, because the timing of its release was wrong.

Tapping the holidays
Several films have also done well at the box-office because of their timing. “The release timing is very important for any film. Om Namo Venkatesaya should have released in the summer holidays because it’s then that people watch films one after another. When a devotional film releases, people become a bit lazy to go to the theatres as they want to watch the film on TV,” says producer Dil Raju.

Interestingly, his film Yevadu was supposed to be released in December, but he postponed it to Sankranti and it became a hit. Mahesh Babu’s film, 1-Nenokkadine also released at the same time, but the film’s negative reviews turned positive for Yevadu.

Don’t Compete with Big Films
When the film Uyyala Jampala released it in December, it became a hit and the lead actor Raj Tarun became an overnight star. “It’s not the star, story or anything else in the film. The release date is very important,” says producer C. Kalyan.

C. Kalyan’s film Khaleja released along with Robo, that damaged its prospects. “Robo was made in two years and was much-awaited. My film also took a long time, but people watched Robo. After my film, another big film released and caused more damage. I actually wanted to release my film a few weeks before Robo, but the timing was completely wrong,” he admits.

Summer releases do better?
If Khaleja flopped due to the bad timing, a film like Sarrainodu starring Allu Arjun, did extremely well. Released during the summer holidays, the film didn’t get great reviews but became a top grosser, pushing it into the list of top ten grossers ever in Telugu. Producer Allu Aravind encashed the summer holidays and it worked out well for him and his son.

One film’s flop is another's hit
Vijay Antony, a Tamil actor, is now popular because of his film Bichagadu. The makers bought the rights of the film for a mere '50 lakh and released it in only in limited screens, the same time as the big release Brahmotsavam starring Mahesh Babu.

No one really thought much about the small film, but with Brahmotsavam getting negative reviews, on the same evening, many screens replaced the Mahesh Babu-starrer with Bichagadu, which went on to collect nearly Rs 20 crore.

“Apart from the festival time, sometimes many films release in just a week’s gap and it is not right. Both films eat into each other’s revenues and a good film may not get good revenues at that time. It leads to heavy losses for the producers and that’s why filmmakers always look for good timing,” says Sunil Narang, Asian multiplex owner and film distributor.

Competing for eyeballs
Recently Head Constable Venkataramayya starring R. Narayanamurthy released during Sankranti, but no one noticed the film as there were three films occupying the screens. The producer stuck to the festival date and the film bombed, though the story was good.

Lesson learnt? A film’s success depends not only on the technicalities, but also on the date and timing of release.