Mumbai, December 14: When Amitabh Bachchan Corporation’s (ABCL) Paa released on December 4, it had a clear run till the next big-ticket release Yash Raj Films’ Rocket Singh-Salesman of the Year on December 11. Paa, which was released with 500-odd prints, and made at a cost of Rs 14.5 crore, according to industry estimates, opened weak but picked up dramatically and grossed Rs 35 crore as on December 12 in the domestic and global market.
Paa is likely to go on to make profits too, but this hasn’t been the case with many films that had bunched-up release this year, thanks to a two-month shutdown because of the multiplex-producer row.
Add the global economic slowdown, which impacted overseas revenues adversely, and the year is clearly turning out to be Bollywood’s annus horribilis. No wonder, the focus is back to basics — content and release timing — something that seems to have worked to Paa’s advantage. Says UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur, “There’s a renewed focus on the script and stories.”
Besides, a lot of importance is being put on the release window — films released in a bunch eat into each other’s revenues. From now on, producers and distributors will ensure each movie has a chance at the box-office, say analysts.