The government of Andhra Pradesh announced 50 percent occupancy in theatres and imposed night curfews from 11 PM till 5 AM. This turned out to be a huge blow for the Sankranthi releases as the theatres across Andhra Pradesh can screen just three shows. The government revised the rule of night curfew and lifted it till January 18th considering the Sankranthi season.

However, the rule of 50 percent occupancy in theatres will be implemented without any changes. The theatres in AP can screen four shows till January 17th. Bangarraju, Rowdy Boys and Hero are the films that will release during the Sankranthi holiday season.

The ticket pricing issue in Andhra Pradesh shattered the theatrical business. The Revenue officials conducted raids and several theatres are shut in the state. After the postponement of RRR and Radhe Shyam, the Sankranthi release got changed completely. Bangarraju, Rowdy Boys and Hero are the films that will release during the holiday season. The distributors acquired the rights of Bangarraju for record prices as it is the only biggie releasing during the season. Dil Raju who produced Rowdy Boys is heading for an own release and locked the majority of the screens across the Telugu states.

The government of Andhra Pradesh today imposed restrictions considering the rising coronavirus cases. All the theatres in the state will have to operate with 50 percent occupancy and night curfews are imposed between 11 PM and 5 AM. It would be tough for the theatres to screen the fourth show considering the night curfews. Several states of the country imposed restrictions for theatres all over and AP joined the list now.

The government of Andhra Pradesh shattered the exhibition industry. The losses are even bigger than during the pandemic when the theatres are shut for months. The minimal ticket pricing is making the theatre owners sleepless. After some of the exhibitors approached the High Court against the GO 35, the High Court canceled the GO but it is implemented forcefully in AP. The officials are quite active and they are conducting raids on the theaters all over AP. The government of Andhra Pradesh is least bothered about the instructions of the High Court. They are mounting huge pressure on the theatre owners and the situation in the state is just pathetic.

Some of the exhibitors informed their distributors that it would be quite tough to run the theatres at such low prices. Some among them took a call and closed their theatres for now. They are not interested to stay in business when the ticket prices are quite low. Balakrishna’s Akhanda will recover the investments for the distributors in AP while the distributors of other regions outside AP are making decent profits. When it comes to Pushpa, the buyers of AP will lose half of their investment because of the low ticket pricing.

If a proper resolution is not found, the theatrical business in Andhra Pradesh will soon come to an end.

With the reduction of the ticket prices in Andhra Pradesh, the distributors are reluctant to pay off hefty prices for all the upcoming biggies like Akhanda, Pushpa and RRR. The biggest season and bet for Telugu cinema starts in December and the film industry was quite confident that the AP Government will revise the ticket pricing GO. But the government clarified that the ticket prices will not be increased and the ticketing portal in the state would be introduced very soon.

The distributors of Akhanda are now paying 20 percent less than the committed prices for the film. The same will repeat for Pushpa and RRR. The theatrical rights may get changed based on the performance of Akhanda. The entire film industry is eager to see how Akhanda performs at the box-office as this is the first biggie releasing after the second wave of the pandemic. The makers of RRR and Pushpa agreed to slash the theatrical deals considering the current situation in AP.

Several single screens in AP are getting ready for closure because of the low rents and high maintenance. On the whole, the theatrical market of Andhra Pradesh reached all-time low.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy issued an ultimatum about the ticket prices and a new GO was released overnight. Along with the film fraternity, the common man was surprised with new ticket pricing in the state. The film industry tried hard to get the GO revised but it did not happen. The theatres in Telangana are reopened with 100 percent occupancy, flexible ticket pricing and parking charges are reintroduced for single screens. But in Andhra Pradesh, selected theatres are reopened with 50 percent occupancy. As there is a night curfew imposed, there is only permission to screen three shows in a day.

The footfalls on day one are pathetic. Thimmarasu received a positive response and the film picked up by evening shows. Ishq received poor response and the collections dropped down badly. AP theatre industry is currently running in huge crisis and it’s time for the government to stand as support before most of the single screens get converted into function halls and warehouses. With the night curfew extended in AP, there would be no prominent releases in August. For now, the film industry has to wait for more time to screen renowned films.

The government of Telangana lifted the restrictions in June and all the businesses are completely asked to operate. The theatres across the state are granted 100 percent occupancy but they are yet to reopen as there are no releases announced. Also, the government of Telangana is yet to waive off the power charges that are promised after the first wave of coronavirus. Now the government of Andhra Pradesh granted permission to reopen the theatres. All the theatres in Andhra Pradesh can operate with 50 percent occupancy from July 8th in AP.

But the theatres will get reopened only after the notable films will announce their release dates. The government of AP is also yet to revise the GO of ticket prices. Most of the exhibitors are not ready to reopen their screens until the GO is revised. If the issues in the Telugu states are resolved, there would be releases expected from August.