Bangalore is English film capital

Collections of The Dark Knight Rises vindicate higher cost of distribution rights for Hollywood films as compared to Mumbai and Delhi

The Dark Knight Rises (TDKR),the latest (and presumably last) installment of the Batman saga,is a box-office sensation in Bangalore.In the last two years,Bangalore was emerging as the 'English film capital of India'.TDKR has reinforced the tag big time.

In the first week of its release,the film has grossed an astounding 5 crore (net = 2.2 cr) in Bangalore,which equals or easily surpasses the state-wide collections of big-budget Kannada,Tamil and Telugu films.In the process,TDKR has rewritten many box-office records.

Ramesh A of Aum Films,which is the distributor of the film in seven areas across the country,including Mysore-Karnataka,says,For English films,Bangalore contributes at least 80 per cent of the collections in this territory.In the first week,each and every show of TDKR in the city was houseful.I am talking of around 140 shows per day.Of these,115 were in multiplexes.

THIS IS NOT A ONE-OFF

Those in the film business say that this is not a one-off affair.Mars Suresh,a distributor,says,For most recent Hollywood films,distribution rights for Bangalore have been sold for higher sums than that for Mumbai or Delhi.The non-refundable amount (NFA) paid for TDKR is 3 crore.It was 2 crore for A v e n g e r s.

Hardly any local film gets so much NFA.The distribution rights of S p i d e r m a n for single screen theatres alone were sold for 1.3 crore,which is an impressive figure considering that most of the revenue for English films comes from multiplexes.

RECORD COLLECTION SEALS THE DEBATE

The collections at Urvashi would explain the enthusiasm.Ramesh says,After rentals and taxes,the distributor got a net of 25 lakh from the single screen theatre in the first week.It is a record not only in Bangalore but the entire country.No other single screen theatre in India even comes close to this figure.The second best is Rex theatre,which brought in 15 lakh.Even this figure is big compared to the rest of the country.

Hollywood films,however,still do not match the collections of big Tamil and Telugu films in Karnataka.The recent Telugu blockbuster E e g a is estimated to have grossed 10 crore in its first week.Discounting 6croreforentertainment tax (30 per cent) and theatre rentals (30 per cent),the producers (who distributed the film without involving local distributors) were richer by 4 crore.

Producer and distributor N Kumar attributed Bangalores rise to its metropolitan population.Bangalore is a multilingual city.It has the cream of the working population from all regions of India,many of whom are English educated.It is not that every English film has a good run in Bangalore,but its market has emerged as the biggest for English films.

Ramesh says,The population of Bangalore may be less than Mumbai or Delhi,but the number of people willing to pay and watch Hollywood films in multiplexes is more.

Over the past few years,Bangalore has matched the collections in Mumbai and Delhi.It was only a matter of time before it overtook the other two.Bangalore is a big bonus for Hollywood producers who are increasingly releasing the films directly instead of going through distributors.

T i n t i n,A v e n g e r s,S p i d e r m a nand TDKR,allofwhichwerereleasedinthe recent past,made impressive collections in Bangalore.

DARK KNIGHT VS AVATAR

To put things in perspective,lets compare the collections of The Dark Knight Rises with Avatar,the biggest Hollywood hit in Bangalore and Karnataka so far.Avatar grossed 12 crore in four months.TDKR is expected to overtake this figure in the next two weeks.