Mumbai: Post the opening-up of the cinemas, the exhibition industry has taken tentative steps towards normalcy. The exhibition industry has been reeling under rentals, manpower, and infrastructure costs since the lockdown began and is today facing an existential crisis due to Pressure from OTT platforms and limited availability of content. Being cognizant of the difficult times the industry is going through and the impact of reduced capacity due to social distancing, earlier this month, UFO had announced a 100% waiver of the VPF/CDC charges for the month of November 2020. Today it has announced a waiver for an additional period with a view to helping in kick-starting the exhibition industry.
“November and December are crucial periods where we felt that the maximum support is required for the industry. Looking at the upcoming slate of films, we felt that we should support the film industry more and especially those producers who will be releasing the films in the first tranche after the opening of cinemas as they would be taking the biggest leap of faith. We trust the industry will appreciate the fact that while we are also at zero revenues since last 8 months, we believe that as a responsible stakeholder in the film value chain we must do whatever little is possible to rejuvenate the ailing industry in these difficult times” said Kapil Agarwal, Joint Managing Director – UFO MOVIEZ INDIA LIMITED
Accordingly, for New Releases the following special rates shall be applicable for All India except the southern states (South states shall be addressed separately);
- For the films releasing in the month of December 2020, there will be a 100% discount on the regular VPF/CDC rate cards.
- For the films releasing in the month of January 2021, there will be a 60% discount on the regular VPF/CDC rate cards of UFO.
“We trust that this will provide additional impetus to motivate the producers and distributors to release their films as wide as possible and also support the exhibition industry by offering reasonable terms to the exhibitors so that maximum impact is achieved,” said Kapil.
