ETimes Explained: Why have box office numbers for Vijay’s Leo been excellent in the South but less than impressive in North India? | Tamil Movie News
Thalapathy Vijay and director Lokesh Kanagaraj‘s ‘Leo – Bloody Sweet’ has had a massive Day 1 opening and even though Day 2 was a bit underwhelming, the film still managed to cross the Rs 100 crore domestic number with ease. The film received mixed reviews from the critics and audiences alike, but the fact is, despite very little promotions and pre-release hype, the movie has still managed to rake in good numbers.
ETimesspoke to senior Trade AnalystRamesh Bala about the film’s release strategy and lack of promotions and hype. Bala stated that Tamil movies generally don’t adopt a hammer and tongs approach to pre-release promotions. He said, “Some of the Tamil movies are not good at promotions. Historically, they don’t promote movies like Telugu or Kannada movies are promoted. The producer of Leo got busy with other work and didn’t do any promotion. Right now, whatever number of screens it has in North India is sufficient. In Hindi, the opening was expected to be soft and we will have to see how it goes with word of mouth over the weekend. Tamil and Telugu versions have had a good opening.”
The lack of promotions wasn’t the only spanner in the works for Vijay’s ambitious movie. In the South markets, the key territories for the film, there was confusion around the film’s Day 1 show timings. It resulted in fewer early morning shows than anticipated. Bala explained, “At what time the shows will start and how many shows can run in a day was an issue. The state government controls it in Tamil Nadu. So, the state government had said that the exhibitors can start Leo screenings at 9 am in the morning with a maximum of five shows. But the producers went to the court asking for a start time of 4 am with seven shows. But the courts told them to go back to the state government. Leo had to settle for the 9 am start with five shows. So, basically, that was the issue and it was solved. In Kerala and Karnataka, it released with 4 am shows.”Ramesh Bala was confident that Leo would rake in Rs 100 crore on Day 1 from worldwide collections. And that’s exactly what Vijay’s film did as it managed a haul of 148 crores from around the world. Another pitfall against the film’s box office prospects was the 4-week holdback clause that prohibits National multiplex chains to screen the film in North markets. Ramesh Bala agreed that this stipulation has affected the film’s domestic numbers. He said, “It will affect the business going ahead, too. But now I am checking the non-multiplex theatres in Mumbai, it’s not like the film is sold out or anything because there’s not much of a promotion there.”
Leo features Sanjay Dutt in a prominent role and that is the silver lining for the film’s prospects during it’s initial limited run in the North markets. Bala agreed and added, “Sanjay Dutt’s presence matters to some extent. At least, some known Hindi star is there to bring in a crowd. In the South, with Lokesh Kanagaraj and Vijay, the expectation is huge. In the North it is subdued but with Sanjay Dutt, it might increase during the opening weekend.”
ETimesspoke to senior Trade AnalystRamesh Bala about the film’s release strategy and lack of promotions and hype. Bala stated that Tamil movies generally don’t adopt a hammer and tongs approach to pre-release promotions. He said, “Some of the Tamil movies are not good at promotions. Historically, they don’t promote movies like Telugu or Kannada movies are promoted. The producer of Leo got busy with other work and didn’t do any promotion. Right now, whatever number of screens it has in North India is sufficient. In Hindi, the opening was expected to be soft and we will have to see how it goes with word of mouth over the weekend. Tamil and Telugu versions have had a good opening.”
The lack of promotions wasn’t the only spanner in the works for Vijay’s ambitious movie. In the South markets, the key territories for the film, there was confusion around the film’s Day 1 show timings. It resulted in fewer early morning shows than anticipated. Bala explained, “At what time the shows will start and how many shows can run in a day was an issue. The state government controls it in Tamil Nadu. So, the state government had said that the exhibitors can start Leo screenings at 9 am in the morning with a maximum of five shows. But the producers went to the court asking for a start time of 4 am with seven shows. But the courts told them to go back to the state government. Leo had to settle for the 9 am start with five shows. So, basically, that was the issue and it was solved. In Kerala and Karnataka, it released with 4 am shows.”Ramesh Bala was confident that Leo would rake in Rs 100 crore on Day 1 from worldwide collections. And that’s exactly what Vijay’s film did as it managed a haul of 148 crores from around the world. Another pitfall against the film’s box office prospects was the 4-week holdback clause that prohibits National multiplex chains to screen the film in North markets. Ramesh Bala agreed that this stipulation has affected the film’s domestic numbers. He said, “It will affect the business going ahead, too. But now I am checking the non-multiplex theatres in Mumbai, it’s not like the film is sold out or anything because there’s not much of a promotion there.”
Leo features Sanjay Dutt in a prominent role and that is the silver lining for the film’s prospects during it’s initial limited run in the North markets. Bala agreed and added, “Sanjay Dutt’s presence matters to some extent. At least, some known Hindi star is there to bring in a crowd. In the South, with Lokesh Kanagaraj and Vijay, the expectation is huge. In the North it is subdued but with Sanjay Dutt, it might increase during the opening weekend.”
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