The ongoing tussle between producers and multiplex owners have turned murkier with multiplex owners literally staging
a walk out from the crucial meeting that took place on Tuesday May 5th evening. This has increased the dilemma of
big Hollywood studios that were all set to unleash their big budget flicks this summer in Indian multiplexes.
Hugh Jackman's X-Men Origins: Wolverine got a whopping $ 87 million weekend when it released on May 1st in the
USA. This film was originally planned to be released in India on the same date as well as the earlier three films of the
X-Men series had been big money earners.
But because the Bollywood producers had called for a strike
against multiplex owners, Fox Star Studios felt it would be better to push ahead their release but that move definitely
seems to mean loss of big moolah.
Though they were expecting a quick solution to the crisis, nothing of that
sort happened. It is now learnt that they are releasing the film on May 22nd. The prequel to the hugely successful Da
Vinci Code starring Tom Hanks titled Angels and Demons is facing trouble as well.
The film was set to
release in India along with its worldwide release on May 15th but it seems less likely as the promotions for the film
have hardly begun. Sony Pictures is perhaps planning to push it ahead by a week more but then that would mean
coming close to clash with the highly anticipated Terminator sequel – Terminator Salvation which is releasing world
over on May 29th.
The Hollywood films are understandably feeling the heat but most importantly it is the cinema hungry fans who are
being deprived of big ticket Hollywood films that they want to see instead of Bollywood ones.
Friday, May 08, 2009 10:48 IST