VETTRI THEATRES EXPLAINS THE THERI RELEASE ISSUE.

Vettri Theatres, located in Chromepet, Chennai is popular among the hardcore film buffs from the city as they actively organise special shows for big releases and conduct re release of few celebrated Tamil films often. Unfortunately, Vijay starrer Theri was not released in this theatre, though it held a lot of expectations from the fans. Yesterday, the 18th April, Vettri Theatres has given an explanation to the problem they faced in releasing this Atlee directorial through their official Facebook page.

The Facebook message read as follows;

“To our beloved Vettri Fans and Ilayathalapathy Fans ...‪#‎TheriReleaseIssue‬
First of all I'm very happy for Atlee Bro and VJ Anna for achieving the highest ever Day 1 worldwide gross for any Vijay Film. Congrats !!!
I understand how disappointed everyone is, for us not releasing ‪#‎Theri‬ . So many of you are emotionally angry, but one should be aware, what is the reason for this mishap.

How does Movie Biz Happen in City-Chengalpet ?
In Chennai city (including surrounding multiplexes) movies are released either on rental (small movies) or plain terms basis. Nobody pays any advance and the revenue is shared on agreed %, usually 50:50. Unlike in Chengalpet, the theatres may have to pay an advance amount, that value varies based on the movie star, director, budget, expectation etc. MG (Minimum Guarantee) is very rare and occurs only in competition centres. Revenue share differs from 50:50 to max 70:30 where 70% is for distributor/producer mostly in case of Rajini, Ajith, Vijay, Shankar & Muragadoss movies.

#Theri in Chengalpet ?
Vijay's NSC market has grown since Nanban and everyone from producers to exhibitors know the numbers for a superhit / hit / flop content. Thuppakki unanimously is the biggest hit for Vijay in the last 5 years and the highest share in NSC. Theri having a great buzz and being the 1st big movie opening for the summer vacation, exhibitors were keen to sign with similar past commercial terms in line with Thuppakki / Kaththi. But what was asked was nearly double the share of the former as MG instead of advance. Yes, the product owner has his freedom to set the selling price, but not at a price nobody can even think of. The quoted price can never be recovered even if Theri would be the biggest BO ever in Vijay's carreer. There was no scope for any negotiations at all even after multiple visits by exhibitors to the their office till the very last moment of release.

Then, how did #Theri release in other areas ?
Theri distributors in other areas like TK, Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Arcot etc negotiated with exhibitors to reach the agreement under usual past terms unlike the "next to impossible" terms in Chengalpet which led to the standoff. Though in areas like Pondicherry, Cuddalore and Chidambaram the release is very minimal. For instance in Pondy where its 5 centre release, only Balaji Theatre has released.

Did Chengalpet Theatres BOYCOTT #Theri ?
Why will they do it? Screening movies is the only source of revenue for standalone theatres. The cafeteria, parking, ad, every single thing is directly connected to the content being screened. That too after the March dry season and Theri being a solo release, exhibitors were hungry for a biggie. Infact, Vettri went through a renovation with new seats & Dolby Atmos keeping in mind the re-opening target is April 14th.

So whoz loss is this ?
Yes, it is a loss for theatres who missed Theri. But this loss is considerably acceptable than the loss you would knowingly incur through that whopping MG value. One should understand, more than the theatres it is the FANS who are most affected. Its a dream come true, a festive celebration to see their favourite stars on the release day itself in their most liked silver screens.

Will #Theri release after this ?
Don't know ... But WE ARE WAITING till date !!!”

PS - Social media messages are not spell corrected.