Even before the advent of the weekend, the industry is already buzzing about the first-day box office collections of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. According to the trade, the Friday collections stand at a neat Rs 19.45 crore, the biggest day-one collection for any Ranbir Kapoor film.
However, one wonders if the high turnover has something to do with the hiked ticket prices across multiplexes in big cities across the country.
According to trade figures, the Ranbir-Deepika Padukone starrer had released across 3,100 screens in India. And most multiplexes and some of the single screen theatres seem to have raised their ticket rates by a comparatively large margin.
Distributor Suniel Wadhwa says, “The tickets prices have been increased by an average of 10-20 per cent compared to the regular rates. Of course it depends upon the locations and properties across the country except where the government controls ticket pricing — in states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.”
A trade source on condition of anonymity also says that the higher number of evening shows allotted to the film have also contributed to the economics at the ticket windows.
The source explains, “People visit the theatres more often during the evenings. There is a sharp rise in the prices of evening and night shows at theatres compared to the pricing of the morning and afternoon shows. YJHD also seems to have gained from the fact that it is this week’s solo Hindi release.”
An exhibitor, on conditions of anonymity, says that there has also been a rise in the number of tickets sold at the windows for the film. “People seem to be genuinely interested in watching the film. Even if the ticket prices had not been hiked, the diference in the collections would have been lower by a mere 20 per cent.”
