From April 4,no movies at multiplexes

No movie will release in multiplexes across the country from April 4 until the dispute between distributors and exhibitors over profit sharing is resolved. Among the movies that are going to be delayed include Jashan,Kaminay,New York and Paying Guest. The United Producers Forum,which has been in talks with the multiplex lobby since January,said in a news conference on Monday that they have been forced to take a stand.

The press conference was attended by the Bhatt brothers Mahesh and Mukesh of Vishesh Films,Yash Chopra Yash Raj Films,Siddharth Roy Kapoor UTV Films,Sandeep Bhargava The Indian Film Company,Kishore Lulla Eros and Ramesh Sippy Film Distributors President. The Forum is demanding a 50-50 division the profit sharing ratio for distributors varies between 45 to 50 percent in the first week depending on the territory.

According to Chopra,content is king and since a producer puts his resources into it,it is only fair that he get an equal share of profits from the film. The forum was critical of the manner in which multiplexes conduct a one-sided negotiation when it came to the release of the film. Globally there is a fixed revenue sharing ratio that is not dependent on the star cast or the budget of the film but in India it is not so, said Mukesh Bhatt,chairperson of the forum. Siddharth Roy Kapoor,CEO of UTV Motion Pictures,admitted that the standoff could result in a glut of big releases at the same time,squeezing profits,but added that it was an issue that needed to be addressed soon.

Multiplex operators were either unavailable or refused to comment like in the case of PVR Cinemas.