18 films in 6 months: Did they recover their investments?
After the devastating impact of Covid-19, filmmakers and cinema hall owners became optimistic with the booming response to Eid releases. While 18 movies have been released so far, only a few were able to pull audiences back to the halls.
The film industry has changed its ways, and revenues are no longer dependent on theatres only.
Directors can earn money through other mediums, including OTT platforms, sale of TV rights, digital rights, sponsors, release of their movies in other countries.
Throughout the last 6 months, these are the movies which have been released: "Chitamahal", "Tor Majhey Amar Prem", "Shoshurbari Zindabad 2", "Mafia", "Mukhosh", "Shimu", "Gunin", "Lockdown Love Story", "Jal Cherar Somoy", "Golui", "Shaan", "Bidrohi", "Boddo Bhalobashi", "Paap Punno", "Agamikal", "Bikhov", "Omanush" and "Talash".
Azad Khan, the producer of "Shaan", told The Daily Star that he is really happy with the positive response for the film.
"The movie has received superb response from the audiences. It's still running in a few theatres. However, we are not able to generate enough revenue to return the full investment just yet. We are hopeful that the investment will be recovered gradually in the future. In addition, there are many other ways to make money from movies. We are really happy that we were able to distribute 'Shaan' in other countries like US, Malaysia and Paris for screening," said Azad Khan.
"Shoshurbari Zindabad 2" director Debashish Biswas shared how Covid-19 impacted his film.
"The movie was released amidst the surge of Covid-19 pandemic, so it kind of hurt our film. However, it still ran for over 3-4 consecutive weeks in theatres. Many cinema halls have opened due to the release of the film. We were able to generate an investment of about BDT 25 to 30 lakh from the cinema halls," said Debashish Biswas.
Efthakhar Suvo, director of "Mukhosh" believes it is completely absurd to assume that one can regain full investments through release in theatres in this industry.
"My movie has run across cinema halls and multiplexes for two months, but the investment has not been recouped. The film industry has changed completely after the pandemic," he says, commenting that they have to rely on OTT and television premiers to recoup their investments.
Zahid Hasan, head of Avi Kathachitra, a film distribution company, emphasised that the film industry has to change its way in the post-Covid era.
"People have become accustomed to watching movies in other mediums since the Covid-19 surge. At present, it is possible to recoup 30 to 50 percent investment from the cinema hall. The rest of the investment will come back from OTT platforms, digital media, sponsors, TV rights and movie releases abroad," said Zahid Hasan.
"The movies that have released in the last few months have not been able to bring back the investment through the cinema halls. It has to be compensated by other means. Audiences have started returning to theatres with the release of films like 'Mission Extreme', 'Mukhosh', 'Shaan', and 'Golui'. However, the investment will not return solely from cinema halls alone. We have to think of better ways to optimise more returns for the movies. I am not saying that the movies that are being released now are bad, but we have to come to terms with this harsh reality," added Zahid Hasan.