Why Oscar winners are commercial disappointments in Kolkata?

When actor-presenter Morgan Freeman announced the name of '

Spotlight

' as the Oscar winner for the 'Best Picture', it was but natural to expect the film to get screened at a decent number of theatres in Kolkata. But surprisingly, only two city theatres are screening the Oscar winner which is running in its second week. Each of them have only one show of the Tom McCarthy film per day. In comparison, Alejandro Gonz'lez I'rritu's '

The Revenant

' has 45 shows spread across 12 city theatres.

If multiplex officials are to be believed, the Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer and '

Mad Max: Fury Road

' are the two movies that will find mention in the list of Oscar winners which kept the cash registers jingling in Kolkata. '

The Martian

' and '

Spectre

' had done good business. But they don't have an Oscar to their credit. The rest who do have one now, had nose-dived at the Kolkata box-office when they had released earlier. That automatically divides English movies released into two categories. One, which are big releases without boasting of an Oscar. Two, which are niche movies meant for film connoisseurs. The Oscar-winners, more often than not, fall in the second category.

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'Spotlight', which also won the 'Best Original Screenplay Award', released in Kolkata on February 19. It had a limited release at Inox Quest, South City, Forum and Cinepolis. The total number of shows in the first week wasn't more than 15. In this week, the number dropped down to just two! 'We are very excited and proud to have brought 'Spotlight' to Indian audiences, especially now that it's been awarded 'Best Picture' at the Oscars. The 'Best Picture Award' is a recognition of the best quality cinema, and the Indian audience has shown this film a lot of love and appreciation already. We are hopeful that this award will usher in new audiences to the theatres as we are looking at strengthening our release footprint in the country in the coming week,' said Vivek Krishnani, Managing Director ' Sony Pictures India. Hoping that the Oscar stamp will change its business prospects, the company has also requested multiplex owners to increase the number of shows.

Said trade analyst Pankaj Ladia, 'The occupancy in the first week was not more than 20%. We are expecting a better turnover now that the film has won an Oscar.'

But sceptics say that could just be hopeful thinking. According to a multiplex official, the dismal figures could be a result of few viewers knowing about the film since it had had a limited release last week. Was the film's subject, which unfrocked a priest of a Roman Catholic church accused of molesting boys, too controversial for the Kolkata audience? Perhaps not, claim officials at the film's distribution company since the city is mature enough to watch such subjects.

Before the release of 'The Danish Girl' on January 15 in Kolkata, there was big noise over screening the film's uncut version. Yet the film with four nominations that eventually got Alicia Vikander an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role didn't get many viewers. 'I had thought people would come in huge numbers after so much was written about it. But my expectations fell flat. The same fate awaited 'Bridge of Spies' and 'The Hateful Eight',' said Subhasish Ganguly, regional director (east) Inox. While the film that won Leonardo the Oscar for 'Best Actor in a Leading Role' has a whopping number of shows this week, Brie Larson's 'Room' for which she won the 'Best Actress in a Leading Role' has only one show per day in Kolkata!

But this does not mean that Kolkata isn't watching these Oscar-winning movies. In fact, many insist that watching niche films well in advance of their theatrical release is a must for those who want to project an image of a film-buff. In Kolkata's intellectual circuit, not having watched an Oscar-winning is supposedly a big no-no since that automatically debars a person from participating in the most happening conversations!

The day the 'The Revenant' was nominated for the Oscars, Ganguly had met many people at a party who had already watched the film. 'I was surprised. They didn't want to wait long for the film's theatrical release. Some preferred downloaded versions that had no cuts. Considering the craze over Leonardo's first Oscar win, 'The Revenant' is expected to do great business,' Ganguly added.


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Oscars 2016

highlights as Leonardo Di Caprio wins Best Actor and Spotlight Best Film