Indian cinemas are grappling with a lack of fresh content and are relying on re-releasing popular films from recent years to generate steady footfall in the theatres.
Some of the recently re-released films that have had successful runs compared to their originals are Tumbbad and Laila Manju. Tumbbad, which was originally released in 2018, had a total box office collection of Rs 13.5 crore. The movie is now closer to crossing its original box office collection, generating almost Rs 7 crore within the first three days of its re-release.
This weekend, PVR INOX, India’s largest film exhibition company with 1,745 screens, has two film festivals with select movies of Akkineni Nageswara Rao (Telugu actor) and Kareena Kapoor Khan being re-released.
“We’ve re-released around 47 movies from April 2024 to August 2024,” said Niharika Bijli, lead strategist, PVR INOX, to Business Standard. “Interestingly, while the average occupancy for regular films from April to August stands at 25 per cent, re-releases have enjoyed a higher average occupancy of 31 per cent. This reflects a strong demand from audiences across a diverse age group,” she added.
Banking on the recent re-release success of Imtiaz Ali’s films, Zoya Akhtar’s films, and Tumbbad, she said that PVR INOX now wants to make re-releases a dominant part of their programme.
The recent data released by Ormax Media shows that this hasn’t been a great year for content movies. The cumulative box office collection from January to August has dropped by 7.5 per cent to Rs 6,868 crore compared to the same period last year.
“There is a lack of demand for new films, which means that there are a lot more theatres available for these old films being re-released,” said Rahul Puri, managing director, Mukta A2 Cinemas. He emphasised that, unlike earlier, when re-releases were for nostalgia, these re-releases are based on targeted audiences.
Films like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Rockstar, Gangs of Wasseypur, Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein, Jab We Met, and Tumbbad are released to target younger or Gen Z audiences who couldn’t experience these films on a larger screen, said Amit Sharma, managing director, Miraj Entertainment.
“Post-Diwali 2024, I don’t see this trend of re-releases going forward. We won’t have that window to re-release films because of the kind of movies that are slated to be released,” Sharma added.
Sharma noted that there are fewer new content releases in Hindi and Telugu languages, and as a result, there are more re-releases in these languages. The space for re-releases in Tamil and Malayalam box offices is less as their box office collections are steady.
The pricing for such re-released movies is discounted by 30–50 per cent compared to the new release of the film, he added.
Industry experts believe that the number of movie re-releases has increased over the years.
PVR INOX has hosted over 20 film festivals since the post-COVID era, with re-releases reaching 10–50 cities depending on the film’s scale and appeal. However, some cities stand out in terms of demand, like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, and Bangalore.
For the continuing trend of movie re-releases, PVR INOX is planning a horror genre-based film festival around Halloween.
First Published: Sep 19 2024 | 6:37 PM IST
