Why theatres in Tamil Nadu and other southern states are refusing to screen 'Avatar: The Way of Water'

Several theatre owners in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are not screening Hollywood director James Cameron’s quarter-billion-dollar film Avatar: The Way of Water as the makers of the film are asking for 70 per cent share of revenue collections compared to the usual 50 per cent given to Hollywood films.  

“Other than the national multiplex chains, theatres in Tamil Nadu are not screening Avatar 2 because the distributors are asking for a 70 per cent share in the collections. So far, we’ve only given 50 per cent for Hollywood movies. But this time, they are asking for a 70:30 sharing arrangement. So, a majority of the screens in Tamil Nadu are not screening the film,” says TN Theatre and Multiplex Owners Association President M. Tirupur Subramaniam.  

He estimates that only 200-250 theatres in Tamil Nadu are screening the film instead of the 600-700 screens that actually could have. A majority of the theatres in Trichy, Coimbatore, North Arcot and Salem are not screening the film and the case is similar in the Telugu speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as well, he adds.  

The film, a sequel to the 2009 blockbuster Avatar, is releasing in 2D, 3D, 3D ScreenX, 4DX 3D and IMAX 3D in English, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi in more than 3,000 screens in the country. It is being distributed by Walt Disney Company’s 20th Century Studios. The firm’s India arm is distributing the film on its own in the country, including in Tamil Nadu.  

One of the most expensive productions ever, it has been made on an estimated $250-$350 million budget, with director James Cameron saying in a recent interview that the film has to make $2 billion in worldwide gross just to break even. In India, it is touted to make Rs 500-600 crore in net collections, according to a note by brokerage firm Elara Capital. 

Karan Taurani, Senior Vice-President, Elara Capital, however, sees only a minuscule impact on Indian net collections because of the theatres refusing to show the movie. In fact, it’s the exhibitors who stand to lose money, he adds. “Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu have a 30-33 per cent share in box-office revenues in India. Assuming that 25 per cent of the screens in these states don’t show the film, it will be an overall impact of 7-8 per cent in the collections. But the actual impact will not be more than 2-3 per cent because more than half of the audience will watch the film in other theatres.”  

Also read: 'Avatar: The Way of Water' final trailer out: Advance booking of tickets starts in India

Also read: 'Avatar: The Way of Water' advance booking: 5.49 lakh tickets of James Cameron film sold so far