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Earlier in the day, Bollywood Hungama broke the shocking news that the advance booking of this week’s big release, Jolly LLB 3, was kept on hold by PVR Inox, the largest multiplex chain of India. The advance booking was suspended across the country from the evening of Wednesday, September 17. From the morning of September 18, the booking gradually resumed, due to which the makers and fans heaved a sigh of relief. But what made PVR Inox halt the bookings? Bollywood Hungama will answer this burning question in this article.
REVEALED: Jolly LLB 3 advance booking resumes; shows were kept on hold by PVR Inox due to VPF issues
A trade source told us, “For a long time, every producer has to pay Virtual Print Fee (VPF) to every theatre where their film gets screened. However, Hollywood studios have been exempted from paying this fee. Accordingly, the India verticals of these Hollywood giants, too, haven’t paid VPF. Jolly LLB 3 belongs to Star Studio18, which is a part of Disney and Viacom. As a result, it was expected that it would also get the VPF waiver. However, PVR Inox insisted that they should pay the VPF like the other production houses of the country.”
The source continued, “The makers of Jolly LLB 3 remarked that as per the understanding, their film should be released without VPF. But the multiplex chain didn’t agree, resulting in shows being put on hold.”
Sources have told us that though the parties are yet to reach a consensus, the advance booking was restarted in the morning of September 18. It now remains to be seen if the makers enjoy the VPF waiver or if they have to pay the hefty fee.
What is VPF?
Virtual Print Fee (VPF) is a charge that big multiplex chains in India take from producers or distributors to help cover the cost of upgrading their technology, which is meant to give audiences a better movie experience. On average, this fee is around Rs. 20,000 per screen. For smaller cinema chains and non-2K theatres, this fee is collected by companies like UFO, Scrabble, Qube etc., which provide digital cinema services.
For a long time, producers have argued that the VPF shouldn’t be charged indefinitely and it was supposed to have been imposed only for a certain time. The exhibitors, on the other hand, feel that VPF is necessary as it helps bear the cost of playing the film using the latest technology and has many advantages.
In 2019, the matter became widely known and discussed after producer Ronnie Screwvala filed a case with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against PVR, Inox, Cinepolis and Carnival Cinemas over VPF. However, the CCI ruled in favour of the multiplexes.
Earlier this year, VPF had become a talking point after Bhool Chuk Maaf was given special exemptions – the national chains allowed the romcom to arrive on OTT two weeks after theatrical release, and secondly, they agreed to charge VPF only if the film crossed a certain figure at the box office.
More Pages: Jolly LLB 3 Box Office Collection
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