All eyes on Valimai

Two and a half years after its official announcement, Valimai, the highly anticipated Ajith actioner, is finally set for release this Thursday. Coming close on the heels of the removal of 50 percent occupancy restrictions, the film's release is thought of as a shot in the arm for for all stakeholders, with distributors and exhibitors believing that the film will be an indicator of the short-term future of Tamil cinema's financial scene, which suffered an additional setback early this year when the big Pongal releases were all pushed back.

“An extraordinary opening is guaranteed for Valimai,” says Tirupur Subramaniam, a leading distributor and the president of the Tamil Nadu Theatres' Association president. “Valimai at the box office is what Master was, last year. The film will release in 800-900 screens across Tamil Nadu. Considering there are a total of almost 1,100 screens, we can call Valimai the widest ever release for a Tamil film, a feat previously held by Master.”

Kalaimagan Mubarak, who has procured the distribution rights for the film in the Chengalpattu area, admits that the film’s wide release will play a crucial role in ensuring that box-office numbers are high. “We are releasing the film in over 85 centers in Chengalpattu alone, making it the all-time highest for a Tamil film in the area.”

Speaking of how important the arrival of Valimai is for Tamil cinema, Tirupur Subramaniam explains, “It will catalyse the revival of Tamil cinema because post-Master, not many big titles have been released, and the lockdown restrictions have further deterred the footfalls in the past couple months. Valimai will put an end to this lean phase and bring the people back to theatres.”

The distributor-exhibitor revenue-sharing ratio has touched a new high with Valimai, Mubarak adds. “In terms of percentage divide, Annaatthe earlier had the highest commission ratio in favour of the distributor, but Valimai’s percentage divide is even higher. Moreover, all the single screens and multiplexes have allotted enough number of shows during the opening weekend to ensure all parties enjoy good collections."

Isn’t higher commission price to distributors a hit on theatre owners? Not exactly. Ruban Mathivanan of GK Cinemas says, “For a film of this scale and the hype it carries, such fiscal demands in place are not impediments. As theatre owners, we are aware that Valimai is the film to bring the audience back to the theatre, and that's important.”

Mariyappan of Albert Cinemas agrees. “Films of Vijay, Ajith and Rajinikanth tend to have higher commission rates, but it doesn’t affect us because the ticket sales will be exponentially higher than for small and medium-budget films. For Valimai, all the shows in our theatre have been sold out for the first day and the weekend looks strong too. If the film delivers, the collections will continue to trend on the higher side.”

Exhibitors are also capitalising on the anticipation, squeezing in as many shows as possible. “For films with a runtime of less than 140 minutes, we have managed to pack in seven shows a day in the past, but considering Valimai’s three-hour runtime, we are planning six screenings per day in both our screens,” Ruban says, adding that there’s tremendous pressure for tickets from all quarters. 

The ticket prices, especially for early morning screenings, are skyrocketing, selling nearly five times more than regular rates, but it doesn't seem to hinder the fans. Rajavazhuthi Rajendran, a Chennai-based event management coordinator and ardent Ajith Kumar fan, shares that he has spent ₹1000 to procure a ticket for a 4am screening at a leading theatre. "Even for someone who has managed to catch the earliest shows of Ajith Kumar-starrers for the last 10 years, getting tickets for Valimai was quite a task. A fan club sold it to me for this price, but when you pit it against the euphoria of a first-day-first-show, I have no regrets," Rajavazhuthi says.

A sense of optimism coupled with anxiety continues to prevail among stakeholders, but the pre-bookings have been a cause for comfort. “The response has been great. We should get a clear picture of the film’s overall box-office performance four days after the release, and we are hoping for the best,” Mubarak signs off.