The approaching release of Ramayana: Part One has turned a long-simmering distribution question into an open negotiation. Reports indicate that the film’s distributor has not made a single take-it-or-leave-it demand; instead, multiple revenue-sharing options are on the table as the Diwali window approaches.
Several formulas, one larger question
One reported option would give the distributor 55 per cent of net box office for the first 11 days before the film returns to the existing structure. Another would set 60 per cent in week one and 50 per cent in week two, then revert to standard slabs. A third discussion involves flat terms tied to lifetime gross benchmarks rather than the week-wise model at all.
The argument for a premium opening share is that the pre-Diwali period is a comparatively soft stretch for cinemas; a stronger first-11-day share would offset lower overall potential for this particular release. Whether exhibitors accept that framing is precisely what makes the negotiation worth watching.
The 2009 model was built for a different market
The current system dates to 2009. Distributors receive 50 per cent in week one, 42.5 per cent in week two, 37.5 per cent in week three and 30 per cent from week four onward, with a 2.5 per cent incentive or penalty in the first two weeks depending on collection thresholds. It was designed when multiplex chains were still expanding and needed a larger exhibitor share to support their capital costs. Historically, distributors had often commanded 60-75 per cent, sometimes more.
Today’s box office punishes staying power
- The 2009 structure: 50%, 42.5%, 37.5% and 30% week by week.
- Reported Ramayana options: 55% for the first 11 days, a 60/50 first-two-week split, or flat lifetime-benchmark terms.
- The double standard: national chains already offer 55%, and sometimes 60%, in week one to major South Indian films.
Multiplex expansion has largely plateaued since the 2006-15 wave, so the original subsidy logic is weaker. At the same time, the box office has become more backloaded. Films such as The Kashmir Files, Chhaava, Mahavatar Narasimha, Hanuman Ansh and Dhurandhar have earned a substantial portion of their business after the third week. Under the current slabs, a film that holds well hands a smaller and smaller share to the distributor even as it continues to fill seats.
A benchmark-linked split could fix the incentive
Premium terms for event films are not unusual globally. In the United States, Avengers: Endgame reportedly secured around 65 per cent of gross, above the ordinary studio range of 45-50 per cent. The more workable long-term solution may be a flexible flat share negotiated film by film: a film crossing Rs 300 crore net could receive a flat 50 per cent, while Rs 500 crore-plus blockbusters could receive 55 per cent. Smaller releases would sit on lower slabs.
The exact percentages are for exhibitors and distributors to settle. The principle is the point: reward a film for holding an audience rather than penalise it for surviving past the opening weekend. One big title may not have enough leverage to rewrite industry practice, but it has put a long-overdue conversation back on the table.
Source: PINKVILLA
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