After the sale of the Tamil Nadu theatrical rights of actor Vijay’s Bigil for a whopping ₹80 crore, the stakeholders hope that the film turns out to be the biggest hit in his career as it is primed to cash in on the four-day long Deepavali weekend.
The film is likely to release in more than 600 screens across Tamil Nadu, with the remaining 250-plus screens going to actor Karthi’s Kaithi .
Produced by AGS Entertainment, Bigil’s theatrical rights have been bagged by production house Screen Scene Media Entertainment. Sources in the trade say that at least three or four major players were fighting for the rights. “Screen Scene got it because they decided to pay a major portion of the price upfront against the usual norm,” said sources in the know.
“It was a show of intent that they are here to do big business,” said a source.
Bigil ’ s business has been been projected to be more than his last two movies – Mersal and Sarkar – but exhibitors say that the film should be Vijay’s biggest hit to recover the money invested.
Distributors and theatre owners say that Bigil will benefit hugely from the trend of family audiences thronging theatres for films such as actor Sivakarthikeyan’s Namma Veetu Pillai and actor Dhanush’s Asuran .
Family audiences
Asked about the expectations of the trade regarding Bigil , Udeep Reddy, managing director, Mayajaal, said, “The prediction is that the film is likely to earn more than ₹150 crore to recover the ₹80-plus crore price that the distributors have paid. We hope the film can do that kind of business since it is Deepavali and people are looking to go to movies. Bigil will once again bring families back into the theatres.”
If Bigil manages to script a huge box office success, Vijay will be within touching distance of actor Rajinikanth in terms of box office revenues.
First 4 days sold out
Producer G. Dhananjayan says that the film will rake in cash on the first four days. “The first four days have been sold out. However, the film’s performance after that will depend on how good the movie is. But, it is clear that the distributors are trying to make the maximum in the first four days by screening the movie in every screen,” he said.
Though Bigil is likely to be screened in every cinema theatre across Tamil Nadu, the 2 hour 59 minute run time of the film is likely to be a sore point for theatres as many say that with this length, only 5 shows can be accommodated in a day.
