Commercial success of any film is determined by the box office collection. When Nitesh Tiwari’s was announced, what caught everyone’s attention the most was the ₹4,000 crore budget for the combined two-part film. With only a week left for release on November 5, the film is set to earn more than $2 million from the overseas market on opening day.
In India, Ramayana has already earned ₹15.06 crore from advance booking sales for day 1. However, this includes blocked seats. Without blocked seats, the film now stands at 12.22 crore, reported film tracker Sacnilk, as of 11 pm October 28.
Blocked seats or tickets are purchased in bulk by the film’s makers. These numbers may not necessarily reflect genuine audience demand.
The practice of more and more blocking seats is often criticised by filmmakers, exhibitors and trade analysts. It may be used to create hype around a film at the box office, even before it reaches the audience.
Blocked seats refer to seats in a cinema auditorium that are marked unavailable for public booking. These may be held by the cinema for operational reasons. They may be reserved for specific purposes or blocked as part of bulk ticket purchases.
The term is often used while reporting film business with seats that are deliberately made unavailable, often to create the impression of high demand for a film.
The practice can be different from bulk booking, in which a company, fan club or an individual buys a large number of tickets for a film.
One of the primary reasons are believed to resort to blocking seats is to provide a boost to a film’s opening.
A strong opening can sometimes decide the fate of a film at the ticket window. A higher reported collection on premiere day can help to bring more and more people over the next days.
Blocked seats also help to fill the shows fast. When audiences see that tickets for a film are selling out quickly, it may appear that the movie is in high demand. This can prompt more people to book tickets, creating momentum for the film ahead of its release.
A film’s performance can influence streaming platforms and satellite television buyers. A strong opening or impressive first-week collection may help filmmakers to negotiate better deals for digital and television rights.
A bigger day 1 collection can potentially help actors to command a higher remuneration for films and better brand endorsement deals.
There are different ways in which bulk bookings and self-buying take place.
However, blocked seats don’t guarantee box office success.
A film may see a strong advance booking or opening-day collection but fail to sustain its performance over the next days.
Box-office success heavily relies on audience turnout, word of mouth and the film or actor’s ability to attract viewers even after the initial days of its release.
Hence, advance booking figures may not always provide an accurate prediction of a film’s success. Spot bookings play a crucial role on day 1 as well.
