Single theatres seek percentage system; rentals for film screening 'not enough'

Hyderabad: In a sudden move, the single theatre owners are demanding a percentage from the producers instead of rentals for their film screenings. On Thursday, nearly 100 exhibitors came to the Telugu Film Chamber and said that they can't maintain the theatres with the present system of rentals.

Some owners say they would close the theatres if the producers do not accept their demand.

All the multiplex screens are running with the percentage system. "Yes, it's good for the cinema and the industry. If you look at other states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, the theatres are running with percentage and not on rentals. With rentals, the single theatres can survive and the maintenance will improve. Otherwise, there is a danger that these single theatres may convert themselves into real estate," says Suresh Babu, producer, exhibitor and distributor.

In Telangana state, there are nearly 300 single theatres. "Because of the pandemic, all the cinema theatres were closed. When they opened now, the occupancy was only half. So, it is very difficult to maintain the theatre, so they are asking the percentage. We shall sort out the issue in a few days," says Rammohan Rao, chairman of the Telangana State Film Development Corporation.

He added that many of the exhibitors are waiting for the G.O from the state government.

In November, before the municipal elections, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao announced sops to the film industry that included the concession on electricity charges to theatres. But, till now, the government has not released GO regarding these sops. "Most of the exhibitors are waiting for the GO, especially concessions on electricity charges," says Rammohan Rao.

"For the last five years, the rental charges have been fixed and there is no hike. So, the single theatres are facing some problems and we will solve it," says Sunil Narang, distributor, producer and exhibitor.

Since March last, many of the single theatres were closed due to financial problems. "The percentage system is not new. We ran the theatres with this system initially and then changed to rental. Now, they are again asking for percentage," says Suresh Babu.

The exhibitors also want a clarification from producers about the screening of big films on OTT. Recently, big films like 'Krack' and 'Master' were released on OTT platforms when they were still running in theatres. "They are asking for a six-to-seven weeks gap after release of the film in theatres," says Rammohan.