New show time hits box office collections

New show time hits box office collections
By: Manju Shettar Date: 2009-07-16 Place:Bangalore



Movie halls are saying their night show business has crashed by 40 per cent because of the 11 pm deadline laid down by the KFCC

The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce's stipulation that all movies end by 11 pm has reportedly eroded business by up to 40 per cent.

Multiplexes and cinemas on K G Road are following the deadline, but some have returned to their earlier
timings.


Old is gold: Santosh (left) and Sagar (above) movie halls prefer to revert to the old slots for showing films

The night show now starts at 8 pm when youngsters in the BPO sectors wouldn't have finished their work. The deadline was prompted by the police suggestion that the city shut down by 11 pm.

"People have stopped coming for the late shows at the multiplexes. We have lost about 30 per cent of our audience," said Basavaraju, distributor.

Many single screen theatres like Urvashi, Rex, Cauvery, Movieland and Vaibhav are following their own timings, and movies run well beyond the 11 pm deadline.

"The earlier show timings were good," said Basavanna, a booking clerk at the single screen Sagar, on K G Road. "But we are stuck with these timings now."

Pallavi, near the BMP head office, has reverted to its old timings.

"When we went by the new timings for three weeks, our collection dipped by 40 per cent. We have the older timings now and business is much better," said Seshadri, manager, Pallavi.

"We have enough problems. Buses stop plying and food isn't available beyond a time. This new rule is meaningless," said Paapanna, manager of Santosh, K G Road.

Harassed

The restaurants have their own woes.

"We can't serve the night show audience because we have a midnight deadline and the cops harass us beyond that point," said Razak, general manager of Paramount Hotel.

But the KFCC is convinced these are teething problems. "The new timings help women and make life safer," said Jayamala, chairperson of the KFCC.

"We should obey industry rules... there may be a problem now but things will improve and everyone will benefit in the long run," said K Manju, producer of some expensive Kannada stunt films.

Show time
Old timings
10 am, 1 pm, 6 pm and 9 pm.
New timings
11 am, 2 pm, 5 pm and 8 pm.

(As stipulated by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce)