Although Kangana Ranaut‘s ambitious ‘Thalaivii’ had a pan-India release on 10th September in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, it had a limited reach since major multiplex chains refused to screen the Hindi version of the movie due to the 2-week theatrical window before its OTT release. Consequently, the outcome has been disastrous to say the least. The Hindi as well as Telugu movie collections were abysmal, especially since the Telugu market was captured by ‘Seetimaarr’. Single screen cinemas being the only option for the Hindi version, even the northern parts of India recorded really low collections when most were expected from these areas, since theatres in Maharashtra were anyway shut.
The only saving grace however, was in Tamil Nadu, where the film still managed to gather crowds, despite massive competition from the other release, Vijay Sethupathi’s ‘Labaam’. Of course, the movie only ever stood at chance in the Hindi and Tamil sector, due to the obvious reasons, that Kangana is a Bollywood star and the fact that the movie is based on Tamil Nadu’s former chief minister and actress-turned-politician Jayalalithaa. ‘Thalaivii’ in Hindi circuits collected about a crore over the weekend (which is still nothing compared to Akshay Kumar’s ‘Bell Bottom’), whereas a total earning of 50 lakhs came in from the Telugu variation. However, the Tamil version managed to garner nearing 2.75 crores over the weekend, though even that is not enough to stay afloat.
Regardless, the Tamil version seems to be the only hope currently, until its OTT release after 4 weeks. Even though the movie opened up to great critics’ reviews and praise from the industry, the first weekend collections were so disappointing, that one wonders whether the makers should have stuck to an OTT release. After much consideration, despite receiving record digital offers, they had decided to go with a theatrical release, that seems to have backfired, with a total grossing of just over 6 crores.
‘Thalaivii‘ was reportedly made on a budget of 90 crores, the highest for any female-centric Indian film. Even though it was announced that the film had recovered the cost before release, mainly due to the OTT deals, it would have been a much better move to have opted for a direct-to-OTT release instead. With the results of Akshay Kumar’s ‘Bell Bottom’ in front of their eyes, how did the makers think they could surpass it, especially with multiplexes not screening the film in the first place! With such a huge cost to recover, maybe this was not the right time for a heroic act of saving theatres. Multiplexes on their part have also acted foolishly, especially when they’re in desperate need for a revival, but let’s not even go there.
It is said that the digital rights of ‘Thalaivii’ were sold to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video for 55 crores and alongwith the music and satellite rights, the film had already made 100 crores prior to its release. In hindsight, had the makers stuck to a direct-to-OTT release, they would definitely have made much more money to call it a profitable venture. Meanwhile, actress Kangana is all ready for her next meaty role in ‘Sita- The Incarnation’.
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