There was a time when the only avenue of earning for a film was the ticket window or the box office. Ticket receipts was how films covered their investments. But that time has long passed. Today, most producers recover the investment on any film way before release, courtesy the sale of a number of rights, ranging from satellite to OTT, and eventually the distribution fees. This one film, for instance, has done a business of close to Rs 1000 crore and it has not even released yet.
The film that has earned Rs 950 crore before release
Kalki 2898 AD is the most expensive Indian film ever made. Mounted on a reported budget of Rs 600 crore, it dwarfs the production costs of RRR, Adipurush, and Brahmastra. The presence of a superstar cast of Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, and Deepika Padukone has made this film the most-anticipated of the year. This has enabled the makers to strike big deals for its satellite, OTT, and audio rights. As per a Bollywood Hungama report, Kalki 2898 AD sold its OTT rights for a combined Rs 375 crore to two streaming platforms (one for Hindi and one for Telugu). Sources say that satellite and audio rights have also gone for over a combined figure of Rs 150 crore.
But the biggest record-breaking earning for the film has come through its theatrical rights, the amount in which it has been sold to distributors. Pinkvilla has reported that the film has done a pre-release theatrical business of Rs 390 crore. Prabhas’ stardom has meant that the film has been sold in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for a record Rs 182 crore. The other south territories have been sold for Rs 52 crore as per the report while the Hindi rights have gone for Rs 80 crore. With the addition of the overseas distribution rights, Kalki 2898 AD has done a pre-release theatrical business of Rs 390 crore. The film has also begun earning through advance bookings, with over Rs 20 crore coming from US alone, giving it a total pre-release business of just under Rs 1000 crore.
Kalki 2898 AD’s massive pre-release business
The Rs 950 odd crore already earned by the Nag Ashwin film is unsurprisingly higher than the total box office collections of several recent Indian hits, including Animal (Rs 917 crore), Gadar 2 (Rs 690 crore), Dunki (Rs 470 crore), and Fighter (Rs 337 crore). As per trade insiders, Kalki 2898 AD needs to do a business of Rs 700 crore worldwide at the box office to be considered profitable. Its makers would hope it surpasses that mark and then some. The dystopian sci-fi saga hits the screens on June 27.
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