Dark Side Of 1AM Shows In Single Screens

With the percentage vs rental system creating building blocks for the upcoming releases in Telugu states, there has been a lot of uncertainty on the way forward. With the release of Peddi around the corner, there has been a lot of talk that’s going around.

In this scenario, we got a chance to sit with the owner of Sudarshan Theatre, Balgovind Raj to get some insights into the theatrical business. In this context, he openly admitted that the 1 AM shows and the special benefit shows are never beneficial for the theatre owners.

Usually, whenever there are late-night shows, or early morning shows, or benefit shows, the prices of movie tickets will be high. The common misconception is that the theatres will benefit from it. In reality, Sudarshan’s owner stated that most of the money goes to the distributor, and it is nothing but a burden on single screens.

“From paying overtime charges to their staff to keeping the premises clean and also paying for the security arrangements, the theatre owner must burn their pockets. We don’t get any profit in there,” he said, adding that despite the tickets being sold to a third party sometimes, the theatre owners will not benefit from that.

In such a scenario, if the exhibitors refuse to screen a movie, the distributors will not continue with them, is what he told us.

In reality, it looks like maintaining a single screen is really tough with minimal profits, but having said that, the maintenance of single screens should also be improved.