Theatre owners to demand compensation for losses from 'Thugs of Hindostan'?

Aamir Khan’s ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ can easily bag the title of being this year’s biggest disappointment, with so much money at stake and theatre owners running at losses. 

The film, a production of the Yash Raj Films, which is said to have been made on an estimated budget of Rs 300 crore, has barely managed to collect Rs 150 crore in 11 days since its release. All this after it showed tremendous results on debut weekend by making Rs 52.25 crore through advance bookings and became the biggest Bollywood opener of all time. 

With only half the money recovered from ticket sales, a report in Mid-Day reveals that the theatre owners are now contemplating asking for a compensation. They are reportedly looking at losing 50% of their investments in the movie and have therefore decided to seek a refund from the film’s studios.

“As is the practice with YRF, the studio had taken on the distribution responsibilities. The exhibitors agreed to the minimum-guarantee deal as they expected handsome profits from the big-budget film, but the tables have turned. So, we are planning to approach the sub-distributors [YRF] to get a refund. We hope YRF, Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan will help us in this situation, else there is a possibility of a few theatres having to even shut down,” an anonymous exhibitor told the tabloid.

This is not a one-off case as previously actors Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan have compensated distributors after their films failed at the box office. Shah Rukh gave refunds for ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’ and ‘Dilwale’, Salman for ‘Tubelight’ and Rajinikanth for ‘Lingaa’.

‘Thugs of Hindostan’ is based on Philip Meadows Taylor’s 1839 novel ‘Confessions of a Thug’ and is about a gang who posed a serious challenge to the British Empire in India during the early 19th century.