Why is 'Ramayana's advance booking delayed?
What's the story
The much-anticipated film Ramayana, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Yash, and Sai Pallavi, was set to open its advance bookings on Tuesday, October 20, marking Dussehra. However, on Tuesday morning, not many theaters across India had begun selling tickets for the movie. As per Bollywood Hungama, this was due to a disagreement between distributors and exhibitors over revenue-sharing terms.
Dispute details
Distributors demanding higher revenue share
A trade source told the outlet, "Usually, for big films, the distributor's share is 52.5% in Week 1, 45% in Week 2 and 37.5% in Week 3."
"But the distributors of Ramayana are reportedly demanding a 60% revenue share in the first week, 50% in the second week, and 40% in the third week."
"This is significantly higher than the usual sharing terms followed for big-budget films."
Negotiation standstill
'Unless both parties arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement...'
The source added, "As a result, exhibitors, who are understandably concerned, are reluctant to agree to these terms and negotiations are currently underway."
"Unless both parties arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement, the advance booking could get delayed."
"Everyone is keen to release Ramayana on a grand scale, but there has to be mutual consensus when it comes to commercial terms."
Limited openings
A few theaters have opened advance bookings
Despite the ongoing negotiations, a few theaters have opened advance bookings for Ramayana.
In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, INOX Korum Mall Thane is the only cinema that has started selling tickets as of 9:30am.
Another major multiplex where advance bookings have begun is AMB Cinemas Kapali in Bengaluru.
The film is set to release worldwide on November 5.