Fresh curbs on gatherings and stricter enforcement of rules have become a slight cause of concern for the latest Bollywood release, 83, and will dent its business to some extent, it seems. As per Girish Johar, who is a producer himself and a trade expert too, the rising Omicron cases have led to various state governments taking strict measures with regards to public gatherings, which has added woos to 83.
States like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have already imposed night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am, which impacts shows starting from 9 pm onwards. The absence of night shows, according to Johar, can act as a dampener for 83 as the average occupancy in theatres at night before COVID struck was 60-65%.
As per Karan Taurani, who is an Analyst, due to the Omicron variant, 83 might see a fall of 15-20% in the revenue. The trade and film experts were expecting strong numbers for 83, assuming Maharashtra will go on to allow 100% occupancy in theatres, however, that hasn’t happened, and the cinema halls continue to operate at 50% occupancy. But, advance booking of 1 lac tickets will play a crucial role in maintaining the films business. That said, these advance bookings have come majorly from Inox, PVR, and Cinepolis, which anyway were eyed upon by the makers.
Overall, it is estimated that 83 will breach Sooryavanshi’s 180 crore collections and hover between the bracket of 240-260 crores, primarily due to Christmas and the New Year week and of course, the storyline. Taurani believes that many cinema chains might end up surpassing break even in December itself.
