Will West Bengal Government’s Mandate To Only Play Bengali Movies In Theatres During Prime Time Affect The Business Of Coolie And War 2?

As per the latest reports, the West Bengal government has issued a new mandate to all cinema hall owners to play only Bengali movies during the prime time. The prime time is generally considered to be between 3PM to 10PM when theatres receive the highest amount of footfall.

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The order states, “In every cinema hall, and in all screens (each screen) of every multiplex situated in this State, 365 prime time shows/screenings of Bengali films shall mandatorily be held throughout the year, with at least one Bengali show per day for all 365 days during the year.”

The Bengali movie industry, which is also known as Tollywood (not to be confused with Telugu Film Industry) has been recently struggling with revenues falling to Rs. 66 crores in 2023 from Rs.120-150 crores in 2014, with the biggest hit being 2017’s Amazon Obhijaan which grossed about Rs. 50 crores. Thus the mandate is clearly a bid to rejuvenate the industry which is currently facing strong competition from massive Bollywood and pan-India releases.

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However, this could pose an issue to upcoming big releases such as War 2 and Coolie which needs to capture all the markets in order to be a success given their high budgets. On an average, 5-10% of the revenue comes from West Bengal for big ticket Bollywood and pan-India and losing the prime time shows may be a challenge for the producers.