Master pre-release business: Vijay's film mints over Rs 200 crore before release

The makers of Vijay's upcoming movie Master have sold the entire theatrical rights and other rights, three months before its scheduled release. It is achievements by itself as the producers, normally, do not sale the rights of the key regions till the film enters post-production stages.

Master Hits 200 Century
Even before the release, Master has made a pre-release business of Rs 200+ crore. Yes, the film, which has Malavika Mohanan in the female lead,  has minted the said amount in spite of selling some theatrical rights to lesser amounts compared to Vijay's previous film Bigil.

As per producer and distributor, G Dhananjayan Govind, Vijay instructed the makers to sell the theatrical rights to multiple parties at reasonable rates. The actor did not want the entire theatrical rights to be sold to one company rather advised the production team to sell area-wise rights to veterans and those distributors, who had distributed his movies in the past.

Vijay Fixes the Rate
Notably, Vijay valued the theatrical rights of the entire Tamil Nadu to be around Rs 68 crore and asked producer Xavier Britto not to sell the rights above the said amount. His suggestions were implemented by Lalitha Kumar and Jagadish, co-producers of Master.

The theatrical rights of Vijay's previous movie Bigil had fetched Rs 83 crore for the AGS Entertainment. While the film turned out to be a profitable venture for many, for some it reached break-even.

G Dhananjayan Govind claims that Vijay wants his distributors to make profits and selling the rights at higher prices would put more pressure on them to recover their investment. The Master producer's decision has made the distributors happy and they are confident on the film minting big money at the box office upon its release.

Vijay Sets an Example
Under normal circumstances, producers sale the rights for higher rates if the actor is returning after a hit film. Vijay's movies have consistently done well, yet Thalapathy has gone against the practice to ensure that people, who are involved in the business, make some money out of his film. In other ways, the 45-year old has set an example for other stars' to follow as safeguarding distributors' interest will have positive impact on the film industry.

Outside State Rights:
The makers have sold the Kerala theatrical rights for Rs 6.25 crore. Bigil distribution rights had fetched Rs 6.50 crore for the producer, but the film had ran into trouble as it violated the understanding among the various unions over the screen limit. 

There is a screen limit of 125 screens for non-Malayalam films and the Atlee's film was released in 300 screens. The Karnataka theatrical rights of Lokesh Kanagaraj-directorial have been sold for Rs 8.65 crore (Bigil: Rs 8.5 crore), while the Telugu rights have been sold for Rs 9 crore (Bigil: 9 crore). From the sale of overseas rights, the makers have earned Rs 29.50 crore.

Check out the complete break-up of business: