COVID 19 took a toll on Hindi Film Industry: Theatres na jaane kab ja payenge!
Big releases like Sooryavanshi and 83 is postponed due to the lockdown, losses are expected in coming time
With the world at standstill due to coronavirus lockdown. India’s Hindi Film industry is witnessing abandoned film sets, closed cinema halls, and movie stars with empty diaries. Last year, this time Avengers Endgame was released which earned more than 365.50 crores. Avengers Infinity War which released on 27th April 2018 earned 222 crores and Bahubali 2, released on 28th April 2017 earned that earned more than 500 crores.
India hasn’t witnessed the theatrical release of any movie since the lockdown. The latest instalment of Rohit Shetty’s super-cop universe movie, Sooryavanshi was set to hit the screens on 24th March. The box office was expecting a bang as it was strategically planned to coincide with a national holiday in India.
Big movies which are postponed for Indefinite time
The release date of Sooryavanshi was pushed for indefinite time, and same happened with Ranveer Singh starrer 83. A biopic about India’s World Cup-winning cricket team which won the glory in 1983 would have definitely earned lots of moolah in a cricket-crazy country. Quickly movies like Sir, Haathi Mere Saathi, A Quiet Place 2, Disney’s Mulan and The New Mutants were postponed.
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Baaghi 3 saw few takers in the second week and Irfan Khan’s Angrezi Medium had to be pulled out of theatres. It later released on online streaming service provider Disney+Hotstar. Likewise, a lot many local language movies have been postponed.
Production of many movies are at halt currently, including Ranbir Kapoor starrer Brahmastra, Shahid Kapoor’s Jersey. The delay in production will definitely change the plans of producers as they will have to shift the release of the movie. Salman Khan’s Radhe and Akshay Kumar’s Prithviraj will also take a hit. Karan Johar’s much-awaited Takht which was all set to go on floors in the coming months will also face a delay.
How big is the loss?
Experts estimate that the entertainment industry in India has already lost more than Rs 1000 crores due to the global pandemic. As per a Financial Express report, the film industry has faced a decline of 29.1 per cent to Rs 1062. 4 crores in the first few months of the year 2020. Last year, the industry had earned Rs 1496.4 crore in the same period.
As India is also facing an economic challenge because of a halt in economic activities, cinema halls might suffer low attendance even when the restrictions are lifted.
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The most hard-hit are the daily wage workers of the film industry. All the shootings of movies, TV series, web-series, daily soaps have either been cancelled or postponed. Daily wage workers working at these places have no work.
However, it’s not just bad news for the entertainment industry. OTT streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+Hotstar and others are witnessing a high jump in numbers of visitors.
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