Theatres Bandh: Mythri vs Dil Raju, Suresh Babu, and Asian Suniel

There is a new storm brewing in Tollywood. Film exhibitors from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh had warned to shut down the theaters from the 1st of June, demanding that the producers allow them to switch over to a revenue-sharing model as compared to the current rental model.

Several exhibitors attended the meeting, and most of the big players from Nizam who attended the meeting are keen on releasing the films on a percentage basis. The top producers argued that it will put a dent in their first-week revenue if the percentage model gets implemented.

Even though top exhibitors and producers attended the meeting, there are still quite a few voices who missed out on the meeting. For now, June 1st is given as the deadline for both sides to reach a consensus, and if that doesn't work out, theaters will be shut across both sides.

The pattern is simple: most exhibitors from Nizam are in full support of the percentage model, and hence implementing the same might not be an issue. But Andhra Pradesh has a different scenario altogether. Except for the East Godavari region, exhibitors from other regions completely oppose the percentage system.

In Nizam, it has now become a battle between Mythri MovieMakers versus others. Top producers like Suniel Narang, Dil Raju, and Suresh Productions are in complete agreement with the percentage model, and Mythri is the only production house that disagrees with it.

Now, a joint meeting is likely to take place on the 21st of May between the two parties once again. Looking at how strong the voices have risen, it's highly unlikely that a consensus will be reached in this upcoming meeting. After getting into distribution and exhibition, Mythri has emerged as a very key player, particularly in Nizam.

An area dominated by Dil Raju, Mythri has slowly taken over the reins with the big-budget actioners, and it remains to be seen what happens to the fate of big films that are releasing in the month of June.

Hari Hara Veera Mallu, Kubera, Thug Life, and Kannappa are some of the films that are due for release next month. Theaters in both states will benefit significantly from the release of these movies. Not just these four, the coming months promise to be a good time for theaters as many big films are lining up for release.

At such a crucial juncture, it makes little sense for theaters to be shut down, and it will be interesting to see how this trend changes later on.