Bilal Lashari’s mega-hit movie, ‘The Legend of MaulaJatt’, starring Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan, broke all records at the global box office and in some of the Pakistani cinemas which aired the film.
Despite amassing record breaking numbers worldwide, the film is not being screened by major Pakistani cinema chains, including Cinepax and Arena, due to a stalemate between the cinema representatives and the distributor of the movie.
Pakistani cinemas that released the film received an overwhelming public response.
The controversy
Nadeem Mandviwalla, the official distributor of the movie, had asked the cinema owners to increase the ticket prices by Rs. 200 in major cities, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi, for the first 11 days after the film’s release. He also wanted to increase producer’s share by 10% during the first week of release.
However, Cinema representatives did not agree to raise the prices of tickets, citing rising operation costs. They also feared higher ticket cost could snub people from coming to cinemas, which would ultimately impact overall revenue.
While 34 out of 38 domestic cinemas had agreed to producer’s terms and screened ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’, four major cinema chains, Cinepax, Arena, Cinestar and Nueplex cinemas, did not agree to the terms and are not screening the movie.
Press conference
To explain the issue and tell public why some domestic cinema chains are not screening the movie, Mandviwalla addressed a press conference on Thursday.
“We asked for an extra 10 percent share [of ticket prices] in the first week [of the film’s release],” he told reporters.
Cinemas generally share 50% of the film’s earnings with the producer but Mandviwalla wanted to share 60% of the total earnings with the producers in the first week to make up for the big-budgeted film.
Mandviwala explains strategy
Explaining his strategy, Mandviwala said the reason behind hiking ticket prices and increasing producer’s share was to maximize the revenues:
“If all the exhibitors had agreed and this film would have been screened in all cinemas, we would have surpassed Rs. 20-22 crore in the first week. Even with the inflation, we had calculated this to be the most successful Pakistan film in terms of revenue.
Our plan was to make sure this film at least earns Rs. 100 crore. And for that, it was imperative that the film should earn at least Rs. 40-50 crore in the first eight days”.
Mandviwalla assured public that the negotiations with cinema owners are still underway as he “won’t rest until The Legend of Maula Jatt is screened in every Pakistani cinema”.
Record-breaking global release
One of Pakistan’s biggest films to date, The Legend of Maula Jatt was released on Oct. 13 across 25 markets globally, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and the UAE. Against its budget of just over half a million dollars, the film generated a worldwide revenue of over $2.3 million globally (approximately Rs. 51 crore) in its first week, breaking box office records on its opening.
- In the United Kingdom, the film picked up $355,000, placed at No.9 on the chart, after its release across seventy-nine locations of the country.
- In the United States, the film grossed $290,000
- The film made $235,000 in Canada as it made place at No.6 on the chart
- In Australia, it grossed $160,000 while being at No.6
- The film reached No. 1 in The United Arab Emirates, raking in over $515,000