Will Enthiran recover its investment?
Both in the multiplexes and the single screens, the film has seen record openings despite an abnormal jump in ticket rates. Rajinikanth’s two previous films Sivaji and Kuselan were bought for Rs. 3 crores and Rs. 2.30 crores respectively while Sivaji did fill the coffers in the Box office, the distributors and theatre owners of Kuselan had to suffer losses.
Though KFCC had stipulated that the film to be released in 25 theatres, the film was released in more than fifty theatres all around the state. The Kannada film producers are sure to raise this issue in the next meeting and will also ensure a huge penalty to be imposed on the erring distributors.
In Bengaluru where all the three versions have been released, the big craze is limited for the Tamil version where it has been released in large number of theatres.
The Telugu version has been released in two theatres Kapali and Bhoomika in the central part of Majestic area of the city where Tamil films are not allowed to be released.
The Tamil version has been released even in two theatres of Mysore. In the other centres in Karnataka, where the Telugu and Hindi versions have been released, there has not been a uniform response.
In Bengaluru and Mysore where the ticket rates had been increased to abnormal levels (the multiplexes sold the tickets for first three days at Rs. 750 and Rs. 1000 while in a couple of single screens it was Rs 300 for Balcony and Rs. 200 for the lower class) the first week collections are sure to bring in a large revenue for the distributors. But question is whether the initial craze for the film will continue in the second week and whether the ticket rates can remain the same.
In the regular theatres where Tamil films were screened it was Rs. 150 and Rs. 200 for Balcony class and Rs. 100 and Rs. 150 for lower classes respectively. Considering the first three days` collections and the huge advances received from the theatres all around the state, the trade analysts expect that more than fifty percent of their investment will be recovered.
According to experts, the state government would have pocketed around Rs. 2.25 to 2.5 crores of entertainment tax to its kitty. Since most the television channels and print media is only talking about the initial craze of Enthiran, the distributors are hoping that the initial tempo will remain for two more weeks.
The question is whether the film, which is not like the usual Rajni blockbusters, will continue to rule the Box office as regular fans of the actor have not got their full quota of entertainment. For them Rajni’s style, mannerisms and fights are far more important that Rehman’s music, Aishwarya Rai’s beauty and the special effects of the film.
This segment of Rajini fans are not happy about the film and may not see the film again as was the case of Rajini`s previous block busters.
