Bollywood Box office terms

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

Circuit: The area for which a distributor buys the distribution rights for a film for a period of (generally) 5 or 7 or 10 years.

 

 

Ratio: The price for which a film is sold for Bombay circuit. Prices for all other circuits are determined as a fixed percentage of the ratio. For example, Delhi-U.P. is usually 80 to 85% of the ratio. But in the case of action films, which have a bigger market in North India, Delhi-U.P. may be sold for 100% of the ratio.

 

 

Flop: If a film can’t even cover its investment by the distributor, it is termed a flop.

 

 

Average: If a film manages to simply recover its cost, it is an average fare.

 

 

Commission Earner: When a film recovers the investment and, over and above that, gets in revenues of 25% more, it is termed a commission earner. Thus, if the distributor’s total investment in a film is Rs. 2 crore, and it does a business of Rs. 2.50 crore, it is termed a commission earner. 25% of Rs. 2 crore is Rs. 50 lakh which is the amount of commission which belongs to the distributor to cover his expenses of releasing the film.

 

 

Overflow: When a film crosses the commission mark, the revenues thereafter are to be shared between the producer and distributor. The producer gets a share in the ‘overflow’ business, generally fifty-fifty. Such sharing makes the film an overflow film. Overflow films can be further categorised as under, depending on the quantum of overflow.

 

 

Semi-Hit: A film which does a business that is double the distributor’s investment in it, is termed a semi-hit. In such a case, the producer gets handsome overflow from the distributor.

 

 

Hit: If a film more than doubles its investment in the distributor’s hands, it is deemed to be a hit.

 

 

Super-Hit: If the returns on a film are much more than double the investment, it is termed a super-hit.

 

 

Blockbuster: Returns are almost triple the investment.

 

The film trade, however, treats a film as a ‘hit’ or a ‘flop’ according to its earnings vis-à-vis its cost.

The price (MG or Minimum Guarantee) which the distributor pays for acquiring a film’s distribution rights, usually for 5, 7 or 10 years is the major chunk of his investment in the film. Since Bombay is the biggest territory, its price is considered the ‘ratio’ of the film. All other circuits are sold as percentages of the ratio. Thus, for instance, C.P. Berar fetches a price that’s 30 - 40% of Bombay’s price or, in other words, 30 - 40% of the ratio of a film. Rajasthan is 20 to 25% of the ratio. The other two components of the distributor’s investment, besides the MG price, are the cost of prints and publicity.

 

Every rupee earned after the entire commission of the distributor is recovered, is to be shared with the producer, usually equally. That is to say, the distributor keeps 50 paise of every rupee earned after his commission is earned and gives the remaining 50 paise to the producer as his share of overflow. Hence, the term ‘overflow film’. When film industry trade papers predict the fate on the day of a film’s release, what they actually do is estimate the likely business of the film through its entire run of 5, 7 or 10 years and compare that with the price for which the said film was sold.

 

The distributor releases the film in the producer’s account and remits the shares, after deducting his commission (which may be 7.5%, 10% or 15%, depending on the arrangement between the producer and the distributor), to the producer.

So, next time, you use the words ‘hit’ and ‘flop’, be sure, you use them in the right context. If not, the better way to describe your opinion would be to say whether you liked a film, hated it, loved it or adored it.

 

 

 

DISTRIBUTOR SHARES

 

The distributor shares are the bottom line. A films verdict is formed depending on the distributor shares. The distributor shares are nett gross minus theatre rentals. The theatre rentals vary. A good quality theatre will charge much more than a rundown theatre. This is where sometimes the nett grosses do not tell the whole story. A classic example is the Rajmandir Cinema in Jaipur. This theatre charges rent at Rs 20,000 per show and a successful film may generate business of around 50 lakhs in 6 weeks at the theatre but the distributor share will only be around 17 lakhs whereas the close by Golcha theatre in Jaipur will give a 17 lakh share on just 28 lakhs business. Bihar has the cheapest rentals while Delhi city is most expensive.

 

 

 

NETT GROSS AND GROSS

 

The amount collected at the ticket window is taxed in India. This tax is called entertainment tax. These taxes vary from state to state. Nett gross figures are always after this tax has been deducted while gross figures are before this tax has been deducted.

[Jaitra]

[Katneni]

(goodpost)

[Simha Marni]

[jaytheking]

[K D No.1]

good one

[Vunnamnrt]

good post

[ramarao_agni]

:goodpost:

[Bezawada NTR]

[Vamsi Krishna]

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