The Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala announced on November 29 that they will not be screening the James Cameron film due to disagreements with the Hollywood film producers over revenue sharing.
No scope for the release
The sequel to the 2009 superhit movie ‘Avatar’, the highest-grossing movie of all time, is set to release on December 16 in India. Well of course, ‘Avatar 2: The Way of Water’ is perhaps the most awaited film of the year and is expected to do blockbuster opening business.
But theatre owners in Kerala are up in arms against the new contractual terms imposed by the film’s producers. The problem is owing to some alleged disagreements between the theatre owners and the Hollywood producers over revenue-sharing terms.
K Vijayakumar, president of FEUOK, said in a press conference that the producers of the James Cameron film are asking for 60% of the revenue, while 50-55% is the norm. They also announced that the film will not be screened in close to 400 theatres under the FEUOK.
“When it comes to films of other languages, there are some regulations in place in Kerala. Regardless of how big a film is, if it is not respecting our practices, we won’t screen it in Kerala. The theatres are not ready to screen ‘Avatar 2’, which is in violation of our terms,” said K Vijayakumar.
Divided opinions
Meanwhile, Malayalam producer and theatre owner Liberty Basheer, president of the Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation, has said that the 200 theatres operating under the federation would be screening the film.
Speaking to The News Minute, he said, “The theatres that are available will be screening the film. We have not reached a final agreement on the profit-sharing deal. We want to discuss and bring down their share to 55%.”
Avatar: The Way of Water, a sequel to James Cameron’s hit 2009 film Avatar, is slated for theatrical release on December 16. It is set in a distant future on a planet named Pandora, where inhabitants of the earth have set up a mining operation, threatening the survival of the planet’s humanoid natives Na’vi.
