Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2 has released worldwide today, but a large section of the audience, especially in North India, may find it difficult to watch their favourite star on screen as multiplex chains PVR INOX and Cinepolis have decided not to release the film in their theatres at all outside of Southern states. The decision comes on the heels of the chains earlier confirming to SCREEN that they have opted out of releasing the dubbed Hindi version of Nelson Dilipkumar’s long-awaited action thriller. This means that Rajinikanth fans can only watch Jailer 2 on single screen theatres or a few multiplexes.
Kalanidhi Maran’s banner Sun Pictures, which has produced the rare Rajinikanth sequel, have struck a deal with an OTT platform to release the film in all languages within a gap of four weeks since its theatrical release today on October 15.
However, the mandatory gap between the theatrical release and the OTT premiere, as agreed upon by the producers and the exhibitors, is a minimum of eight weeks in the Hindi market. Hence, PVR INOX and Cinepolis decided against releasing the Hindi version of Jailer 2.
However, as the film releases worldwide today, it’s faced yet another setback owing to its streaming rights deal. “Jailer 2 won’t play in PVR INOX and Cinepolis outside the Southern states in Tamil or Hindi,” a trade source from the exhibition sector tells SCREEN. “These exhibitors ask every producer for an eight-week window before a film goes to OTT. The producers didn’t agree, and they’re going ahead with the release anyway,” they add. After SCREEN reached out, PVR INOX and Cinepolis haven’t given an official response to the same.
Although the mandatory gap between theatrical and OTT releases for a Tamil film is only four weeks, PVR INOX and Cinepolis have opted out of releasing even the native Tamil and dubbed Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam versions of Jailer 2 across North India. “Eight weeks is what the exhibitors seem to want for them to give the film, both in Hindi and Tamil, a proper run. For them, four weeks is too short a window,” points out the source.
Hindi-speaking audience’s struggle to catch Jailer 2
The makers of Jailer 2 have released the dubbed Hindi version as Rajini the Jailer. However, as per BookMyShow, that version is playing only in secondary multiplex chains and a few single screens across major Indian cities like Mumbai and Delhi. Several audience members have also objected to the absence of English subtitles in the Tamil versions playing in cinemas other than PVR INOX and Cinepolis.
Thus, despite a release in Hindi, Jailer 2’s pan-India phenomenon has been restricted to the South languages. While PVR INOX and Cinepolis have agreed to release the film in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada across the whole of South India, the Hindi version is also not playing anywhere in that region.
Story continues below this ad
Despite the setback in the North India market, Jailer 2 has managed to secure an impressive advance booking of Rs 41.48 (including block seats) by selling 19.60 lakh tickets across 17,615 shows. The Tamil version has the biggest share (79%) at Rs 32.63 crore, followed by Telugu (17%) at Rs 6.94 crore, and Hindi (4%) at Rs 1.74 crore.
One can speculate had Jailer 2 released in PVR INOX and Cinepolis across North India, these figures could’ve been even higher. Particularly, that of the Hindi version, given the film has an ensemble pan-India cast, featuring popular Bollywood faces like Vidya Balan and Mithun Chakraborty, along with a cameo by Hrithik Roshan.
Also starring SJ Suryah and Ramya Krishnan among others, Jailer 2 is the sequel to Rajinikanth and director Nelson Dilipkumar’s 2023 blockbuster. The first part amassed Rs 607 crore at the worldwide box office, including Rs 408.50 crore gross and Rs 384.55 crore net in India, led by 189.35 crore in Tamil Nadu and only Rs 16.75 crore in North India.
Leave a Reply