Coronavirus: Bollywood set to lose ₹800 cr due to shutdown, Baaghi 3 losses pegged at ₹25- 30 cr

As all shootings are cancelled and theatres in many parts of the country shutdown amid coronavirus outbreak, Bollywood stands to incur an estimated loss of ₹800 crore. As per a Mumbai Mirror report , more than half of cinemas across the country - around 3500 screens - have been shutdown, following orders from various state governments including Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar and Punjab.

Tiger Shroff-Shraddha Kapoor-starrer Baaghi 3 hit theatres on March 6 and the film had collected ₹90.67 crore in the first week of its release. On the other hand, Irrfan Khan’s Angrezi Medium has collected ₹9.5 crore in three days of the release. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted, “#AngreziMedium Fri ₹ 4.03 cr. #India biz. Note: Biz has been severely affected due to closure of cinema halls in several states. #CoronaVirus #COVID19.”

Also read: Coronavirus lockdown: Katrina Kaif stays at home with sister Isabella, Sunny Leone says she’s ‘bored out of my mind’. Watch

Trade analyst Komal Nahta told the daily. “It’s a loss of ₹25- 30 crore for the makers of Baaghi 3. Theatres shutting down have also impacted the weekend business of Angrezi Medium. The Hindi film industry stands to lose ₹800 crore owning to delays in releases and shooting schedules.”

Taran had earlier told HT, “This will definitely have repercussions in the entertainment industry. Films will not release, the producers will have to put a stop to it. We are talking about crores and crores.”

Carnival Cinemas CEO Mohan Umrotkar said in a press statement that the business for March has been impacted badly due to the COVID 19 threat. “As per the government’s notification, all the cinemas are not functional till 31st March in most of the states and we are expecting that this situation will be under control soon and we will be up and running from 1st April onwards with utmost important feature at Carnival – hygiene and public safety. This quarter is completely washed out and shall be down at least 40-50 percent as compared to last year. One, because the movie line up was weak and then the Covid-19 impact in March. It is unfortunate that the business is affected so much, but human life is of most importance. Necessary precautions are a must in these times of crisis. We may not get the desired revenue in this quarter but it will come in the subsequent months. As a business model, we have a fixed overhead so that’s a loss if the cinemas goes vacant for a longer period of time,” the statement said.

However, he is optimistic about the business once things get baack to normal. “The film release calendar has been pushed ahead but after everything gets back to normalcy and film schedule is in place again, we are expecting that 1st quarter on 2020-21 should yield at least 5-8 percent more revenue than last year same quarter as the current line-up of the films looks very promising, including 83, Raadhe, Laxxmi Bomb, Bond movie and many more. If this situation remains same in April, the first quarter will also face some heat in that case. Public will be back in cinemas, once the content is available for them. Momentum is now building to impose physical distancing once again. But it’s critical to be smart about it. We strongly support these measures, which will save lives. This is the first week of complete lockdown and we are not getting many queries from the patrons as the first priority is staying safe. Unfortunately, we are in this for a long haul. We need to prepare to pull together, help one another and preserve social cohesion while we use physical distancing to combat the virus,” he added.

Angrezi Medium director Homi Adjania earlier announced re-release of the film. “At midnight all theatres will close across India till the authorities give us further notice. We will re-release Angrezi Medium when it is safe to do so. Till then stay safe and be kind to each other.”

Baaghi director Ahmed Khan had said after the release of Baaghi 3, “Malls are not functioning, shops are not working, considering the situation, cinema is the last thing people want to go to. In such a scenario, the film has earned ₹17.50 to ₹18 crore (on first day) and it is overwhelming. Even if we had made ₹7 to 8 crore then also it would have been good. It is the biggest opening of the year till now. We had expected much more but you can’t fight almighty and nature.”

The release dates for several films have been postponed in wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Brahmastra, Sooryavanshi, Vicky Kaushal’s Udham Singh biopic, James Bond’s next No Time To Die and Fast and Furious 9 have been postponed. While the makers haven’t announced Sooryavanshi’s new release date, Fast and Furious 9 will arrive only in April next year. Vicky Kaushal’s film will also hit the screens in January next year

The shooting for a number of films such as Jersey, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and Brahmastra were cancelled too due to coronavirus. Salman Khan’s Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, Vidya Balan’s Sherni, Bhumi Pednekar’s Durgavati and John Abraham’s Mumbai Saga, nonetheless, continue as per schedule. However, the Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association (IMPPA) has announced that all production work shall be halted from March 19 to March 31.

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