Mumbai terrorist attacks hurt box office

Perhaps not surprisingly, people getting shot and killed at the doorstep of cinemas (Metro BIG, to be precise) has had a dampening affect. I went and saw two films this past weekend, one older Bollywood release and one newer Hollywood, and both were playing in prime multiplexes to only about 20 per cent audiences. Not good.

These observations are backed up by the newspapers that surveys several cinema operators about people's refusals to go out for some out-of-home escapism. From the Times of India (Film theatres await fans' return):

A disappointed Manoj Desai, of G-7 multiplex, Bandra, said, "Nobody is going to cinema halls. The business is so bad that it is going to be difficult for businesses to recover the cost of air-conditioning a cinema hall. People are scared and don't want to venture out.''

The four films released on Friday were `Meerabai Not Out', `Maharathi', `O My God' and `Dil Kabbadi'. The paid previews and premieres for the releases were cancelled.

As they were medium-budget films, the real impact to the industry will be gauged only later this month, when bigger-budget films starring Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan are slated for release.

A vice-president of Cinemax Cinemas said, "We expect a weak period after 26/11.'' He hopefully added that business was also usually slow before a "King Khan coming''. "People are waiting for a major banner to go for a movie,'' he said.

So all eyes (and hopes) are pinned to YRF's big release this Friday Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, followed by Studio 18's and Warner Bros. India's Chandni Chowk to China, two and four weeks later respectively (not to mention big Hollywood releases like STAR-Fox's The Day The Earth Stood Still).

It is not just cinemas but restaurants that are also suffering, with another article informing us that 'Post-terror, eateries lose 35% business', again not surprising given what happened at Leopold Cafe. I didn't go to any five star hotel this week, but I'm sure that they were emptier for Sunday brunches than usual. Not that we are all afraid of terrorists striking at any moment, but there's just not the mood.

At least I did my bit for the cinemas this weekend, but more is needed. Let's make it the patriotic duty of all Indians to go to the cinema this coming weekend. I will be leading from the front - of the line at the box office.

(Photo credit: Maciej Dakowicz)

Getting digital wrong in Mumbai from a distance

Never let facts get in the way of a good story, or better, of a daring piece of analysis. That is the only conclusion I can draw from the following breathless pronouncement by my colleague Nick Dagger over at Digital Cinema Report:

July 15, 2008 | Issue #131

A recent press release from Digital Projection International highlighted the news that the company is supplying the projectors for all of the 1,000 digital screens in UFO Moviez’s digital cinema network in Mumbai, India. While that is admittedly a significant announcement for DPI, I think it represents an even more significant development for the global digital cinema marketplace. My reasoning? The projectors are all 720P HD, which means that – for now, and by choice – the largest digital theatre chain in the largest city in the world will not be showing first run Hollywood movies digitally.

Interesting if it was true, but it is not. Simple research would have thrown up two glaring errors in this claim. The first is that Mumbai is the largest city on earth. It is not. From Wikipedia:

It is not the biggest, it just feels like the most crowded.

Secondly, there are not 1,000 UFO screens using DPI projectors in Mumbai. There aren't even 1,000 digital screens by any and all operators combined. In fact, there aren't 1,000 cinema screens in Mumbai full stop.

A quick visit to UFO Moviez's website would have confirmed it, as they helpfully provide a list of all their screens everywhere in India by state:


According to this list Maharastra (the state in which Mumbai is located) had a total of 257 screens installed. Of these I counted 46 screens in Mumbai (if we include Navi Mumbai). So well short of the 1,000 claimed.

You do not need to live in Mumbai to know this - an Internet connection and a healthy dose of skepticism about outlandish digital claims is all that is required. But he is right that UFO will not be showing Hollywood films on the e-cinema screens. However, a little bird tells me that they have a surprise in store.