Film industry, multiplexes look down as COVID rears its ugly head again

Just when things started getting better for the cinema and film industry, a resurgent COVID wave threatens to bring the box office collections to a halt across the country.

The Delhi government on Tuesday (December 28) decided to close cinema halls, theatres, and multiplexes. Other states may follow suit as cases rise, especially in the backdrop of an imminent threat from the Omicron variant.

The sudden closure is going to affect box office collections of latest releases like 83, the film that talks about India’s first cricket World Cup win, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Pushpa: The Rise – Part I.

It is a big blow for the cinema and multiplex owners, who got the permission to operate at full capacity only in October. The early part of 2021 was lost to COVID second wave. Partial permission (50% seating) was granted in July but not many big films had released then.

83, starring Ranveer Singh as the exuberant Kapil Dev, has just released and was gaining momentum on the back of some good reviews. The Kabir Khan-directorial chronicles the Indian cricket team’s fascinating 1983 World Cup victory. Surprisingly, its first week collection was not up to the mark. The film made Rs 47 crore at the box office in three days since its release.  Shut down announced by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will badly affect the film’s business in the national capital and also elsewhere in the days to come.

Also read: ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ highest grossing movie of 2021

Pushpa, a Telugu film dubbed into Hindi, has surprised trade pundits with its collections in the north. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh on Tuesday said that the Hindi version of Pushpa is also popular with moviegoers who watched Spider-Man: No Way Home and 83. Pushpa’s Hindi version has garnered Rs 39 crore so far. Spider-Man: No Way Home has collected at Rs 179.37 crore at the box office till date and is still going strong in Mumbai and Delhi-UP.

Shahid Kapoor and Mrunal Thakur starrer Jersey, a Hindi remake of the Telugu film by the same name, will not release in cinemas on December 31, as was planned earlier. There is uncertainty over the release of SS Rajamouli’s RRR, which was set to hit the screens on January 7. This is Rajamouli’s first film after the extremely successful Baahubali series.

Earlier on Tuesday, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal declared a yellow alert in Delhi following its biggest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases in six months on Monday.