The Baahubali 2 woes in Karnataka have continued following the state government's move to protect the interest of the consumers by putting a cap on movie ticket prices with immediate effect.
Baahubali 2 Tamil Movie Review
On Thursday, Sa Ra Govindu, president of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, announced the cap move will come to effect from Thursday, April 27. He said charging over Rs 200 per ticket will be "illegal" and all exhibitors should adhere to government's decision.
The cap policy is set to open a can of worms as exhibitors have already sold tickets for prices as high as Rs 600 in Bengaluru for the opening day. Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce has directed the exhibitors to return the excess money taken from movie goers.
The latest development has come as great news for Karnataka who often end up paying fancy rates to watch movies. However, the cap will definitely affect the business of Baahubali 2, which was expected to gross over Rs 75 crore in the state.
The first instalment of Baahubali had grossed over Rs 65 crore with a net income of Rs 35 crore in Karnataka. Exhibitors had sold tickets for unprecedented rates with some multiplexes selling tickets in the range of Rs 900-1000.
Multiplexes and distributors used to get equall share which helped the movie to set the box office on fire in Karnataka. With the reduced rates, Baahubali 2 is unlikely to do half of what the first instalment had made in the state two years ago.
Baahubali 2 ran into trouble earlier when Kannada groups threatened to halt the release of the film over Sathyaraj's anti-Karnataka comments he made nine years ago. Following the Tamil actor's apology, the protests were called off.
However, the old rates continue to exist in all theatres and Book My Show continues to sell the movie tickets at exorbitant prices. The audience are in a state of confusion whether to book tickets or delay till the rule is implemented.
