Battle begins for the Pooja box-office!

It is going to be a bloody battle for the “Pooja holidays box-office” at the Tamil Nadu theatres.

Four medium range Tamil films are releasing during Pooja holiday season September 30 to October 5.

The films releasing on September 30 are , Cheran- Prasanna road thriller UTV’s Muran, Vishal’s Prabhu Deva directed mass movie Vedi being marketed by Sun Pictures, and Vimal’s Sarkunan directed Vaagai Sooda Vaa. And on October 5 there is Nandha’s cop movie Vellore Mavattam.

Where are the screens to show these films? In Chennai city due to large number of multiplexes all the films will get a decent release but outside of the metro in smaller towns there are not enough screens to accommodate all the four.

Among the releases Vishal’s Vedi will be screened in maximum screens (200 to 230) as it is mass masala and is being distributed by the market leader Sun Pictures.

Next due to the strong networking system, UTV and Muran may get 125 to 140 screens. Vaagai Sooda Vaa may get 80 to 100 screens. Vellore Mavattam, will also try to get 80 to 100 screens, depending on how Sep 30 releases open.

The buzz in that trade is that Vaagai Sooda Vaa, which carries good pre-release reports is trying to get aggressive on the trade front. They are offering the film to theatres without MG or deposit and giving attractive terms like 50-50. A normal Tamil film gets 60 to 65 % of the total net as distributors share in the first week. VSV’s offer of 50% has made it more attractive for the exhibitors and will ensure more screens for the film.

Meanwhile AR Murgadoss produced Fox Star distributed Engeyum Eppothum is turning out to be a super hit. Its second weekend (Sep 23 to 25) has been better than the first weekend (Sep 16 to 18) collections throughout Tamil Nadu. And in its third week more theatres prefer it to new releases.