The Hollywood supernatural film Sinners was released in India and worldwide on April 18. The film has caught the attention of the elite Hollywood crowd and there’s a demand among them to catch the flick on IMAX as a major chunk is shot on the IMAX 65mm camera. Hence, moviegoers were shocked when Sinners was removed from Eros IMAX Cinema in Mumbai and Delhi’s Priya IMAX and Paras IMAX. Interestingly, all three cinemas are standalone IMAX properties and are owned by PVR Inox.
SHOCKING: Sinners KICKED out of Eros, Priya and Paras IMAX; replaced by Kesari Chapter 2 and Jaat – films NOT even shot in IMAX
A source explained what went wrong, “No show of Sinners was played here as the theatres replaced the film with the new Hindi film, Kesari Chapter 2, and the holdover Bollywood release, Jaat, though both these films are not shot in IMAX. Warner Bros asked for proper showcasing of Sinners in these three cinemas but since the film is not a front-loaded superhero flick, the three cinemas had reservations about playing it with all shows. A negotiation was not reached and hence, Sinners couldn’t make it in Eros, Priya and Paras.”
The source continued, “These theatres argued that they are single-screen IMAX cinemas. This means that they have no other screens present. The other multiplexes could afford to play Sinners with lower occupancy in IMAX as they can profit with a huge turnout for other films in normal screens. But if they play only Sinners or give most of the shows to the film, it won’t justify their costs as it’s a film meant for a niche audience in India. The Warner team, on the other hand, argued that with Sinners, they should have made an exception as it’s a film meant for IMAX screens. Also, its word of mouth is incredible and has the chance to grow. More than 30% of the business of the film has also happened in IMAX screens on the first day.”
An industry insider commented on this issue, “These cinemas should have at least given a chance to Sinners for the weekend. Then, for the weekdays, they could have negotiated with the studio and demanded the replacement of certain shows, citing profitability. Not allowing an IMAX film in an IMAX theatre from the first day of release was unfair.”
At present, Eros Cinema is playing 5 shows of Kesari Chapter 2. Priya and Paras have given the morning show slot to Jaat and the rest of the shows are allocated to the Akshay Kumar-starrer. This move hasn’t paid much dividends to the theatres. The Saturday night show of Kesari Chapter 2 in Eros was barely full, though it was playing with great occupancy in other cinemas of the city.
The source explained the reason, “With Eros, Priya and Paras, the perception among the audience is that we are supposed to go there to watch an IMAX-worthy film. As a result, for non-IMAX movies, the preference would first be other cinemas in the vicinity. It’s a catch-22 situation for the standalone IMAX theatres. They can’t rely on playing only IMAX films, especially the niche ones like Sinners. But there’s no guarantee they’ll get required footfalls for regular films.”
Also Read: Director Ryan Coogler and Music Composer Ludwig Gorranson talk about their musical journey with Sinners
More Pages: Sinners (English) Box Office Collection , Sinners (English) Movie Review
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