What about OTT rights? Filmmakers claim disparity in box-office collection report as producers' body defends figures

The Kerala Film Producers Association recently released the box-office collection figures of films that hit theatres in February. As per the report, 11 of the 17 films tanked in theatres, while others like 'Bromance', 'Officer on Duty' and 'Painkili' were still running in theatres, though the February figures did not paint a rosy picture for them either.

However, Kunchacko Boban, who played the lead role in 'Officer on Duty' expressed his ire against the association, claiming that the initial reports released by the producers' association were incomplete and did not mention the details of the film's profits received through OTT, satellite, dubbing, and music rights.

Earlier, 'Aathma Saho' director Gopukiran Sadasivan told Manorama Online that the producers' association released incorrect figures regarding the film's box office collection. The report, according to Gopukiran, was misleading and did not reveal the actual collection figures. While the report showed that the movie, made on a budget of Rs 1.5 crore, only received Rs 30,000 at theatres, the 'Aathma Saho' director claimed that the film collected over Rs 7 lakh within four weeks. He also alleged that the producers' association did not approach either the distributors or the crew members of the film to enquire about the details.

'Machante Malakha,' directed by Boban Samuel claimed that his film collected more than the figures released by the producers' association. As per the producers' association report, the film, made on a budget of Rs 5.12 crore and starring Soubin Shahir and Namitha Pramod, only collected Rs 40,000 in theatres. Boban claimed that the producers' association was trying to establish their monopoly in Mollywood, by releasing false figures, which could discourage new producers.

"It is true that we made our film at a budget of Rs 5 crore. This includes the remuneration of actors and various other factors. However, our film did much better business than the reports have claimed. I don't understand the purpose of releasing such false data. It is disheartening for new producers," he told Onmanorama while stating that producers in the past faced bigger risks than today. According to him, there was a time when producers could only rely on people's response at theatres, satellite rights and in some cases, audio rights. "Today, the scenario has changed. Producers receive profits through various channels, including overseas collections and OTT rights. The risks are lesser today," he said.

'Only Kerala theatre collections published'

However, the film producers' association has come out with a clarification regarding the latest report and stated that they only published figures collected from Kerala theatres. B Rakesh, president of Kerala Film Producers' Association, claimed that they did not intend to mislead anyone with their report. They also specified that the aim of the report was to create more awareness among debutant producers, based on the current scenario.