Dispute over profit share puts ‘Kantara: Chapter 1' Kerala release in jeopardy

The upcoming big-budget movie 'Kantara: Chapter 1' directed by Rishab Shetty, is facing a ban in Kerala even as the film is set for release on October 2. According to Film Exhibitors Union of Kerala (FEUOK) president K Vijayakumar, Prithviraj Productions, which is distributing the movie in Kerala, has demanded a 55 per cent share in profits in the first two weeks from theatre collections, as opposed to the 50 per cent share mentioned in the terms and conditions set by the exhibitors in Kerala.

“As per our existing terms, those who are distributing other language films in Kerala can only demand 50 per cent profit from the film collections on the first few days. However, Prithviraj Productions has demanded 55 per cent and that too in a span of two weeks. We have allowed 55 per cent profits to distributors in special cases during the Covid pandemic. But we won’t allow such demands during the present times,” Vijayakumar said.

According to him, Malayalam producers only receive 30 to 40 per cent of the share, when Mollywood movies are distributed outside the state. “Thudarum was a huge hit in Kerala, but when the film was distributed outside the state, the producer M Ranjith faced huge losses. Big production houses demand huge profit share for screening other language releases in Kerala, but they don’t have any issue settling for a 30 to 40 per cent of the revenue share from theatres when films are distributed outside the state,” Vijayakumar alleged.

Vijayakumar went on to affirm that FEUOK will impose profit-sharing terms in line with other states if distributors fail to adhere to the established conditions. Despite repeated attempts by Onmanorama to reach out to Prithviraj Productions for comment, no response has been received so far.