Premiere Night Negativity Is Getting Out Of Control!

Leaving aside the film’s flaws, box office results and collections, the kind of reaction seen during the Paradise premiere shows clearly shocked Nani himself. He openly admitted it too. But this is not something that happened only with Paradise. It has become a trend for some time now and it could affect many more films in the coming days.

Social media has completely changed the way movies are discussed after release. The negativity we see today is very different from what used to happen earlier.

In the past, if a Chiranjeevi movie was releasing, Rival fans would be negative about it while the general audience would still give the film a chance. The same would happen when a Balakrishna movie was released. Balayya’s Rival fans would react negatively but others would wait and watch. That breathing space is almost gone now.

Today, the moment a movie gets premiered, social media starts hunting for flaws. Except for the hero’s own fans, almost everyone wants to find something negative to talk about. The reason is simple. Negativity gets reach.

Once a big movie is released, negative tweets and Instagram posts start coming one after another. One account posts something negative and others quickly follow it. Nobody wants to miss out on the reach. Once the trend starts, the reach can become huge within a very short time.

Then come the YouTube reviewers. Even for them, negativity often brings more views. A simple and balanced review may not get the same attention as a video that completely tears apart a film. So they also end up looking for flaws and highlighting them.

This has made the first weekend extremely stressful for film teams. They know that every small negative point can spread quickly and the makers often hesitate even to open Instagram during the first few days.

But social media cannot be blamed for everything. If the content is weak, there will obviously be enough material for trolling. Even paid tweets and bots cannot save a film if the audience does not like what they see.

The problem becomes bigger when makers conduct premieres and increase ticket prices. We have seen this with Peddi and Toxic and the same pattern was seen with Paradise. The makers may feel that the hike is only a small amount, but for the audience the fact that the ticket price has been increased itself creates a different mindset.

Many viewers walk into theatres feeling that they are already paying extra to watch a star’s movie. They start watching every scene with a mindset of “let’s see what you have got.” There is very little patience.

If the movie turns out to be anything less than good, that frustration gets multiplied. A scene that might normally be ignored suddenly becomes a major flaw. A small issue gets turned into a big talking point and the negative talk spreads much faster.

This does not mean these films are perfect or that social media is responsible for everything. Films with weak content will always face criticism. But the level and speed of negativity during premiere shows has changed significantly.

Producers who want to conduct premieres and hike ticket prices need to think carefully before taking that route. They should be confident that their film can handle the extreme scrutiny that comes with it. Otherwise, the premiere itself can become the biggest challenge for the movie.

Tags Movie Premiere Shows