'Teen Maar' Overseas-BIG LOSER

Going forward, we are going to give the trade report of Overseas Telugu movies, as we don't want the overseas buyers to fall in the trap of greedy producers.

With their hype about each and every movie without knowing the facts of the trade, they push buyers to take their films which incur huge losses.

So, we are starting with 'Teen Maar's trade facts and this will be followed by 'Shakthi' and all other future movies.

Given below is the list of collections of 'Teen Maar'as per the dates.

Wed (Apr 13): $30K (Premiers in few centers only)
Thur (Apr 14): $75K
Fri (Apr 15): $76K
Sat (Apr 16): $110K
Sun (Apr 17): $37K

Total: $328K (Rentrak Reported Centers)

As per Rentrak, the highest 1st week Grossers till date are Khaleja-$490K, Robot-$390K (all the grosses are rounded to 1000s)

'Teen Maar' is the 3rd biggest opening. Remember the gross collections were not reported to Rentrak for Magadheera, Pokiri & Bommarillu. So, we don't know the exact gross to those movies, otherwise they would have been certainly in the top list. But during those days, the movies used to run for more than 4 weeks with good collections. Also, they used to release in less number of theaters, so it is not fair to compare those genuine blockbusters with these movies.

As per our estimation, 'Teen Maar' might collect another 20K in these 4 weekdays of first week and another 40K to 50K from its 2nd week onwards.

'Teen Maar's full run gross might end up at $600K in total (Rentrak Gross-$400K, Non Rentrak- $80K, and Sold Outright Non USA @$120K).

The rent+Sales Tax for USA Centers are one third of the total USA Gross, The Net Share of the Distributor/Exhibitor is $320K= Rs1.5Cr from USA, 55lakhs from Non-USA.

In 'Teen Maar's case, total returns from overseas are Rs 2.05cr, the movie was bought for Rs 2.5cr (2.25cr copy rights + 25laks prints), so NET LOSS is Rs 45 laks for a movie which got Hit talk & Super web reviews. This loss is only for Overseas Distributor and USA exhibitors. As per our information, Non-USA centers have also incurred huge losses especially in Gulf Region where Pawan Kalyan movies will have super Run, but this movie did not go well with masses in Gulf region, It is estimated that around 15laks are the losses for Non-USA exhibitors, the total loss of 'Teen Maar' for overseas territory is Rs 60 laks.

Overall, 'Teen Maar' is a BIG LOSER for overseas territory considering the HUGE price it was bought for. If the movie is bought for reasonably good price like Rs 1.5cr, all the buyers would have have atleast some profits after long time and hence movie would have been declared as a BIG HIT in overseas as well. So, technically 'Teen Maar' is a loser though it got HIT talk and good collections.

Source: Rentrak, Several exhibitors & Dsitributors from overseas territory.

The Shocking Truth About Overseas Film Business!!

With film line becoming more like a corporate industry, it is all about figures and returns for any film. And with globalization happening, the demand for films overseas has become a key aspect of business.

However, as much as it may look rosy, here is a bitter truth about the harsh realities the overseas buyers are experiencing.

While some enter out of pure passion for cinema, others make some wrong calculations. Anyways, here is a look at few inside facts on the actual collections of our films which we received from our sources.

The overseas price for ‘Puli’ was Rs 1.75 cr and even the loss was Rs 1.75 cr. This became the biggest loser overseas and just the print costs were recovered.  Similar was the fate of ‘Orange’ which was bought at Rs 2.1 cr and the loss incurred was Rs 1.1 cr.

‘Anaganaga Oka Dheerudu’s hype fetched a price of Rs 1 cr and the buyers could manage only the print costs incurring a massive loss of Rs 1 cr. ‘Varudu’ was bought at Rs 1.3 cr and this gave a loss of Rs 1.2 cr, this recovered little print costs and expenses cost. Same was the case with ‘Kedi’ which was bought for Rs 1 cr and gave a loss of Rs 1 cr.

The maximum number of buyers suffered in the losses of Rs 50 Lakhs- Rs 1 cr category and here are few details. ‘KSD Appalaraju’ was bought for Rs 60 lakhs and incurred a loss of Rs 70 lakhs, they could not recover even the print costs. ‘Ragada’ was taken for Rs 1 cr and this gave Rs 65 lakhs loss. Siddarth’s ‘Bava’ was bought for Rs 72 lakhs and the loss due to that was Rs 85 lakhs. ‘Rama Rama Krishna Krishna’ also was taken for Rs 75 lakhs and it gave a loss of Rs 85 lakhsleaving the buyers speechless. ‘Maro Charitra’ was another debacle which was bought for Rs 50 lakhs and led to a loss of Rs 65 lakhs, even the shipping costs were not recovered. Same with ‘Sambho Siva Sambho’ bought for Rs 60 lakhs and incurred a loss of Rs 70 lakhs. ‘Namo Venkatesa’ was bought for Rs 1.75 cr but it gave only a loss of Rs 50 lakhs. 

The remaining buyers who suffered less injuries fall under the Rs 10 L- Rs 50 L bracket. Already, ‘Dongala Mutha’ bought for Rs 20 lakhs is expected to give a loss of Rs 30 lakhs. ‘Prema Kavali’ gave a loss of Rs 10 lakhs and even the print and shipping costs were not recovered. ‘Wanted’ was bought for Rs 20 lakhs and the loss was Rs 25 lakhs, even print costs were not recovered. ‘Parama Veera Chakra’ gave Rs 10 lakhs loss and print costs were also not recovered. ‘Nagavalli’ was bought for a hefty Rs 85 lakhs and it gave a loss of Rs 35 lakhs. ‘Rakta Charitra 2’ gave a loss of Rs 40 lakhs and it was borne by the producer. ‘Kathi’ was bought for Rs 10 lakhs and the loss was Rs 18 lakhs. NTR Jr’s ‘Brindaavanam’ was taken for Rs 1.5 cr and the result was a loss of Rs 10 lakhs. Same with ‘Don Seenu’ taken for Rs 80 lakhs and giving a loss of Rs 15 lakhs. ‘Subhapradam’ was taken for Rs 6 lakhs and the result was a loss of Rs 12 lakhs. Surprising to note that ‘Darling’ bought for Rs 90 lakhs gave a loss of Rs 25 lakhs which is a shame for a class hit movie in India. ‘Adhurs’ was taken for Rs 1.3 cr and it only gave a loss of Rs 10 lakhs.

The other set of buyers were lucky enough to get away with smaller wounds. ‘Gaganam’ gave a loss of Rs 5 lakhs after spending Rs 40 lakhs on it. ‘Jummandhi Naadham’ gave a loss of Rs 3 lakhs and it was released by the producer who could not recover even the print costs. ‘Om Shanti’ gave the producer Rs 6 lakhs loss.

On the brighter side, ‘Aha Naa Pellanta’ gave collection of Rs 2 lakhs to the producer which was a little above the print costs. ‘Mirapakaya’ which scored a hit in India was bought for Rs 75 lakhsand it resulted in a collection of Rs 75 lakhs leading to cost-to-cost situation. ‘Vasthadu Naa Raju’ gave no profit no loss to the producer who recovered the print costs. Same with ‘Rakta Charitra -1’. Surprisingly, Mahesh Babu’s ‘Khaleja’ which was bought at Rs 1.95 cr gave a profit of Rs 5 lakhs. ‘Robo’ was the best with Rs 1.5 cr buying price and a profit of Rs 50 lakhs. The price was calculated by 1/4th of Rs 6 crores due to the Telugu and Tamil rights. ‘Maryada Ramanna’ gave profit of Rs 25 lakhs with Rs 1 cr investment. ‘Vedam’ gave Rs 15 lakhs profit with Rs 95 lakhsbuying price. ‘Simha’ was bought for Rs 25 lakhs and gave profit of Rs 15 lakhs, this was considered a good deal given that Balayya has a weak territory overseas. ‘Prasthanam’ got its producer Rs 10 lakhs. ‘Ye Maya Chesave’ was bought for Rs 80 lakhs and gave profit of Rs 5 lakhs. ‘Leader’ was taken for Rs 95 lakhs and gave profit of Rs 25 lakhs. ‘Bindaas’ got its producerRs 2 lakhs.

Going by the above figures, this is the situation of the overseas buyers folks.

Overseas Movie Market Vs Tollywood Producers

Overseas Telugu movie lovers can prepare to dig a little deeper into their pockets to watch forthcoming movies in this summer.

As distributors bought overseas rights for higher prices and lately realized they cannot recover investment costs. So starting this summer, with the big release SHAKTI, the ticket prices at a number of theatres across the country will be hiked as distributors & exhibitors try to cash in on a booming box office.

The cost of tickets for SHAKTI & TEENMAAR is expected to go up marginally from $12 to $15 or $16, and premier show tickets could go up almost to nearly $18 to $20.

These ticket prices are significantly higher and is this hike really worth it? As a result of rapidly rising prices, many more people will avoid watching movies in theatres and would encourage online movie piracy.

If the ticket prices rise to $15, then the price for family of four in overseas to see a movie in theater will be Rs. 2,700 ($30) when compared to Rs. 400 ($9) in theatres in India. How about adding popcorn, soda in the interval or dinner on the way to Movie Theater? In last few years, ticket prices in overseas rose from $8 to $12 and Telugu movie patrons  has no choice but to accept it .

Whether overseas Telugu movie patrons encourage high ticket prices and save distributors/exhibitors or boycott watching movies in theatres in this summer is a million dollar question???

Here’s the consumers opinion on increase of ticket prices:

"The U.S. economy isn't in the greatest shape, and there is definitely risk here in pushing price too far in a weak economy," said few exhibitors & movie patrons from across the country.

“I think it's time for the public to show overseas distributors & exhibitors and the movie industry in general that they need us more than we need them and boycott. They are making money off the backs of the working class and still want to increase their profits.” said many consumers across the country

“I used to go to the movies every weekend. Now I just wait for most of them to come out on Online or DVD. $1.99 for DVD or watching online for free is far more preferable to $12 - $15 per ticket for "the theater experience. As a result of high ticket prices, I am going to be really selective about what movie I see in the near future and I have a feeling other people are going to be doing the same due to the jump in ticket prices and lack of quality in the recent films that have been released”, says an NRI film buff.

So we have to see how Overseas-Telugu movie market negotiates with producers at home.