The COVID-19 outbreak seems to have taken a heavy toll on the entertainment industry in the State.
The Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association and other fraternal organisations, after a meeting in Mumbai on Sunday, decided to suspend the shooting of films, television and web series and other digital entertainment programmes from March 19 to 31 as a precautionary measure.
Resumption of shooting with new schedules is a daunting task. The decision, made as part of the industry’s commitment to complement the government efforts to contain the pandemic, would deepen the crisis in the industry.
Shows suspended
The suspension of shows in 650-odd cinema houses across the State has already rendered a blow to the industry. Construction of a number of cinema houses is progressing and most of them are set to be commissioned soon, taking the number of screens to about 750.
Online content
According to producer G. Suresh Kumar, a cinema with 100 seats would post a daily loss of ₹1 lakh and this would go up in the case of bigger halls. Also, six films that had registered reasonable returns in the past 30 days and were still drawing crowds may not sustain the same rate of collection once the shows are resumed.
Moreover, film producers now strike a deal with online content providers and secure their financial assistance for completing the projects. After releasing films, they are mandated to transfer the right of the films to the content companies. Once released on the online platforms, it would impact the turnout and collection in cinema halls.
In spite of such problems, the industry is committed to aiding the government’s efforts to contain the crisis, Mr. Kumar said.
Release deferred
The release of a slew of films slated for the month has been deferred and if the virus threat extends beyond March, it would affect the Vishu festival collection as well.
The industry is hopeful that the crisis may be contained before the festival season sets in. The government would have to provide due support to the exhibitors to disinfect and resume shows once the crisis blows over, film industry sources said.
