Pawan Kalyan’s OG is all set to have its premieres in North America on Wednesday, 24th September. The pre-sales for the premieres already crossed two million dollars and are racing towards the three million dollar mark. The advance ticket bookings for the film are exceptional in both the USA and Canada. In Canada the ticket sales were super strong. When everything seemed to be going well for the film in North America, York Cinemas in Canada removed the showcasing of OG from their website 5 days ago and they assured a refund to the patrons who booked the tickets already. What exactly happened between York Cinemas and the North America distributor, Prathyangira Cinemas? Why did York Cinemas pull out OG’s showcasing from their theatres? We spoke to a few of our sources from North America and gathered the following details.
Since the last decade or so, the North America distributors of South Indian films have allegedly been compelled to agree to the terms put in forth by York and Woodside Cinemas Group to release films without any issues in Canada. Sources claim that issues arise if any distributor disagrees with their terms and attempts to release films using other available theatres. According to our sources, York & Woodside Cinemas Group also takes considerable time to settle payments with distributors. In some cases, it is alleged that the group took about eight months to pay the share to the distributor for a big PAN India film released last December.
The distributors allege that York Cinemas Group usually comes up with the following terms to ensure a smooth release of a film:
York Cinemas will not pay any advance to the distributor upfront. The distributor has to take the burden of the entire investment and release the films in Canada only through York Cinemas.
2. The distributor has to pay a 10% share as commission to York Cinemas if they decide to screen the films in any additional theatres other than York Cinemas’ owned theatres.
3. They pay only 45% of the total gross as a share to the distributor for the films screened in York & Woodside theatres and 50% of the total gross as a share from the additional theatres that aren’t owned by the York & Woodside group. Sources allege that York has, at times, claimed films were theirs in outside theatres, enabling them to demand higher percentage.
4. York Cinemas Group charge an extra $3 for the shows that are screened on Dolby Screens but, as per allegations, even though the content is regular, they put it in Dolby screen and charge $3 extra from movie patrons and do not share this amount with the distributor.
By considering all above, Distributors who invest crores of money are forced to get only around 35% of the gross as a final share. As per our sources, Prathyangira Cinemas weren’t even informed about the removal of OG’s showcasing from York Cinemas until fans of Powerstar Pawan Kalyan reached out to them. They allege this has been a pattern followed by York Cinemas over the years to put pressure on distributors closer to a film’s release.
So, what is the way forward to release OG in Canada? According to the source from Prathyangira Cinemas, they are going ahead and releasing the film in Canada on their own in screens that aren’t owned by the York and Woodside Group. Bookings are already open at a few screens and the distributor is working relentlessly to release the film in as many theatres as possible in Canada.
‘Every fan of Pawan Kalyan and every movie lover who wants to watch OG in Canada will have a ticket. We are doing everything in our capacity to give the film a smooth release in Canada,’ says the representative of Prathyangira Cinemas.
Related