Multiplexes, producers agree on formula, first show June 12

The two-month-old row between producers and multiplex owners over revenue sharing has ended, paving the way for a slew of releases from June 12. Both sides had met several times over the last month, but ultimately thrashed out their differences at a marathon 14-hour session at Yash Raj Studios on Thursday. The deal—BIG Cinemas was first to sign on the dotted line—was sealed at 3.30 am.

“Both sides have agreed to the deal,” said Reliance BIG Entertainment chairman Amit Khanna. However, other exhibitors such as PVR, Fame, Inox and Cinemax are yet to ink the agreement, said Kishore Lulla, CEO of Eros International, one of the industry’s largest producers and distributors. According to sources, they are expected to sign on Monday.

Under the terms agreed, producers and exhibitors will now share 50% of the box-office revenues in week one, then 42.5%, 37.5% and 30% in subsequent weeks.

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BIGFlix to widen screen in tier-II cities

Video-on-demand and online movie rental company BIGFlix is planning to expand its business to almost 15 tier-II cities which include Lucknow , Baroda, Mangalore and Meerut. The company will spend 25% of its investment (around Rs 112.5 crore) in FY09-10 to target smaller towns and cities across India.

The key areas of focus for the Reliance BIG Entertainment company this year will be to strengthen its online service presence in major cities of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. Kamal Gianchandani, COO of BIGFlix.com, said, “We are looking at investing 50-55% of our total investment for the current financial year in building our online business for smaller cities.”

Initially, the company faced some challenges in terms of logistics, system integration and delivering services to customers on time.

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Indian cos eye Hollywood pie

The world's the stage for major Indian media firms, with some of them set to make a global mark by joining the Hollywood band wagon.

Recently, at the Cannes film festival, Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADAG inked a deal with eight Hollywood production houses, and the projects will feature actors including Nicholas Cage, Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey and others.With this,Reliance BIG Entertainment now steps into every department of film trade - production, distribution, exhibition, and post production. Billionaire investor George Soros recently paid $100 million for a minority stake in Reliance Entertainment, which the company said valued it at $ 3 billion.

Entertainment industry analysts say this trend is going to gain momentum in the coming days. Says Farokh Balsara, head - media and entertainment,Ernst&Young,"Indian companies are making waves in Hollywood and many more companies will join in. for Reliance ADAG, it makes sense to do this as they are already into broadband, DTH and radio. However,the whole project will take three to four years to be completed."

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