The Aamir Khan-starrer Sitaare Zameen Par had a good opening and had a dramatic leap on Saturday, resulting in cheer in the business. However, a piece of exhibitors are sad. They have been all set to display the acclaimed flick but at the final second, the distributors, PVR Inox Pictures, modified their thoughts.
Cinemas praise Aamir Khan for releasing Sitaare Zameen Par only in cinemas but upset with release technique; 700-800 single screens not provided the film despite dedication; no show in ICONIC Raj Mandir Jaipur raises eyebrows
A supply informed Bollywood Hungama, “Earlier, the plan was to provide a controlled release to Sitaare Zameen Par. After several exhibitors reached out to the film’s team and showed interest in playing the film, it was decided to increase the screen count to 3000. However, on Thursday, some cinemas were informed that the film won’t be provided to them.”
The supply added, “Some 700-800 theatres in the country didn’t release Sitaare Zameen Par due to this reason.”
An exhibitor from West Bengal rued, “I was so excited to play Sitaare Zameen Par as I am a die-hard Aamir Khan fan. The distributors sent the publicity materials and poster of the film to us. At the last minute, they expressed their inability to provide the film. They claimed that they are now opting for a limited release. I was heartbroken as a fan and also an exhibitor. I inquired and realized that out of 150 cinemas in Bengal that were going to show the film, 80 of them couldn’t do so, due to this reason.”
What additionally boiled the blood of those theatre homeowners, lots of them are single screens, was the Multiplex Association of India applauding Sitaare Zameen Par staff for releasing the film solely in cinemas. A cinema proprietor from central India exulted, “We truly respect Aamir Khan for not selling the OTT rights and showing his faith in cinemas. We are here to support him fully and we request him to please look into our situation and find a solution to it. Assuring us of the film and then adhering to your word is not done at all.”
Film exhibitor and distributor Akshaye Rathi stated, “The programming of a film is done on the basis of the law of demand and supply for every market. On the basis of that, the distribution plans are very locked. For example, nobody believed in the potential of The Kashmir Files (2022) before its release. Hence, it was released in around 320 screens on day 1. By day 2, the film was showing in around 600 screens and by day 3, it was playing in 1000 screens. By day 4, it was playing on a much higher number of screens. Similarly, there are films which opened very big in terms of the number of screens. However, due to minimal demand, the shows and screens were cut down drastically. As a result, the distribution plans become very fluid in the week of release.”
He added, “Sitaare Zameen Par was initially meant to be released in a limited manner. Then the release plan became a little wider after which, it was again somewhat cut down.”
When requested if committing to ship a film after which backing off a day earlier than release is a standard observe, Akshaye Rathi replied, “Things like these happen very rarely. It takes serious experience and specialization as a distributor to be very precise with the release planning. I believe that once you have shaken hands over some work you are doing, you should really honour it. It leads to a situation which isn’t terribly pleasant.”
No show in Raj Mandir
A number of eyebrows have been raised as Sitaare Zameen Par isn’t taking part in in Jaipur’s iconic Raj Mandir Cinema. A neighborhood exhibition supply defined, “The theatre was keen to play 2 shows of Sitaare Zameen Par and allot the rest of the shows to Housefull 5. But the distributor insisted that Sitaare Zameen Par should play in all 4 shows. The theatre assured that if Sitaare Zameen Par sees a jump in collections, they are open to allotting all shows to it from Sunday. The discussion went on until Thursday 5:00 pm after which no solution was found. Raj Mandir management, with a heavy heart, had to forgo Sitaare Zameen Par.” At current, it’s taking part in 4 exhibits of Housefull 5.
On June 18, Bollywood Hungama was the first one to disclose that the distributors of Sitaare Zameen Par have requested single screens that they must allot all the exhibits to the Aamir Khan-starrer. Trade sources, nevertheless, identified that this rule wasn’t adopted throughout the nation.
A commerce professional commented, “In Mumbai’s Plaza cinema, the Marathi film Jarann has a show at 12:30 pm while the rest of the 3 shows are given to Sitaare Zameen Par. In many single screens of Bengaluru, shows have been divided between Sitaare Zameen Par and Kuberaa. In Roopbani, Purnea, Housefull 5 is playing at 9:00 and 3:00 pm while the rest of the 3 shows are given to Sitaare Zameen Par. Hence, the distributors should have been understanding and allotted 2 shows to Raj Mandir. The theatre always attracts a crowd and would have ultimately benefited the film.”
Past cases
This is not the first time that PVR Inox’s distribution technique has come underneath the scanner. During Singham Again (2024), many cinemas complained that advance reserving was opened first in the properties of PVR and Inox after which they have been allowed to start ticket gross sales. They alleged that consequently, they got step-motherly remedy.
In December 2024, Bollywood Hungama broke the information that Baby John was launched in simply 4 out of 275 single-screen cinemas of CP Berar. The information created a storm in the business.
Baby John’s advance reserving was additionally affected as PVR Inox Pictures had requested for 60% of showcasing for the Varun Dhawan-starrer whereas they requested exhibitors to allot the stability 40% of the exhibits to Pushpa 2 – The Rule. To the single screens, they insisted that there needs to be 3 exhibits of their film and 1 show of Pushpa 2 – The Rule. The theatres didn’t conform to this demand as the Allu Arjun-starrer was doing historic enterprise.
Also Read: BREAKING: After Sitaare Zameen Par’s HISTORIC Saturday leap, a number of multiplexes add post-midnight exhibits at 1:00 am and three:00 am
More Pages: Sitaare Zameen Par Box Office Collection , Sitaare Zameen Par Movie Review
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