As Jawan crosses ₹1000-cr mark, a breakup of who gets what from that huge figure
As Jawan crosses ₹1000 crore, here's a look at the share that producers, exhibitors, distributors and lead actors get from the box office collection.
Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan crossed the ₹1000-crore mark on Monday and is be only the third Hindi film to do so, and the second one this year. Aamir Khan was the first star to enter the club, with his 2016 biographical sports drama Dangal. Shah Rukh's Pathaan earlier this year also achieved the feat. (Also read: Jawan grosses ₹1000 crore worldwide in just 18 days)
As we get the third ₹1000-crore Hindi film, here is a look at what the numbers mean, and who gets what portion of that huge amount.
Producers
The distribution of revenue among the stakeholders of a film differs for each film. Producer and film business analyst Girish Johar specified that there is no blanket figure for the division as it depends on the contract each film is agreed upon. Nonetheless, the producers' share of the nett box office collection can roughly be placed between 45 to 50 percent.
Exhibitors
The exhibitors come next in the hierarchy of profit sharing. Girish said they get around 37-38% of the box office collection, while Galaxy Cinema CEO Rashmikant Bhalodia put the figure at 30% for the exhibitors.
Distributors
The distributors get a 15-20% share of the total box office collections for a film, CEO of Galaxy Cinema (Rajkot) Rashmikant said.
Lead actors
All the films that have crossed ₹1000 crore mark are headlined by big Bollywood stars - Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan. These actors have been taking a percentage profit share in the film's business for some time now. Ramesh put the figure at five percent of the total box office income for the actor. Girish explained that most of the big stars in Bollywood take a profit share in box office revenue, as well as other revenues, making it a much bigger number. He did not put a percentage to the actors' share.
A simpler breakup of box office collection
Girish Johar explained the division in detail, “If the ticket is for ₹100, roughly ₹25 is for the entertainment tax. ₹75 is shared between distributor and exhibitor, broadly divided into two halves. From the 37.5% of the ticket price, the distributor takes broadly 10% and the rest goes to the producer.”
He added, "If the producer takes ₹30 of the ₹100. Of the producer's share, the lead actor takes a percentage of the producer's share of the box office collection. The lead actors also take a profit percentage of all revenues normally - that includes the satellite, digital, and music rights as well."
How did ₹1000 crore-mark become the new ₹100 crore-mark within a decade?
When Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge scored a hundred crore rupees at the box office, it was a new benchmark, and now it is a norm for big films to cross that number in their first weekend itself. Apart from inflation and increasing spending power in the country, a major reason for the rise in these numbers is the expansion of the cinema multiplex chains.
Girish agreed: “Definitely, the multiplexes and their increased ticket prices have played a major part. Earlier we were ₹1000-2000 crore industry and now we are clocking more than ₹5000 crore. Now, they contribute around 70% of the Hindi market box office, including dubbed (Hollywood). They are still expanding as so many cities in the country are virgin cities for multiplexes.”
CEO of Galaxy Cinemas, Rajkot, Rashmikant Bhalodia, also agreed that the high ticket prices in multiplexes have played a major part in increasing the box office figures over the years.
The contribution of multiplexes
Executive Director of PVR INOX Limited Sanjeev Kumar Bijli said, “There were fewer multiplex screens earlier, with penetration in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, multiplex screens have increased and now it takes less time to reach the magical figure (of ₹1000 crore). The growth of large screen formats such as IMAX, PXL, BIGPIX and experiential formats like 4DX, MX4D, ICE for screening these movies have also contributed." He added that cinema owners accommodating maximum shows (practically possible), based on the audience demands, has also played a role in making these movies bigger at the box office."
He also talked about the changes in cinema viewing patterns post-pandemic. “The pandemic caused a temporary disruption to cinema-going habits of people as an out-of-home entertainment destination. Once the content started resonating with the audiences, we witnessed never ever achieved box office numbers in the history of cinemas clearly proving that there are no set boundaries for a movie’s success.”
Sajeev Kumar also said, “Successful movies in multiplexes can be given longer runs, and that allows them more time to attract viewers and generate revenue. This extended screening period contributes significantly to a movie's overall score,” he concluded.
