New movie timings for better revenue

Bangalore, May 21 (IANS) A film body Thursday rescheduled the timings of the film shows after the Karnataka government extended it for two hours in a bid to help the Kannada film industry generate more revenue.

The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce came up with the new timings after the state government extended the concluding time of the shows from 10 p.m. to 12 midnight.

"We decided a long ago that the present show timings were affecting our collections. But we were not able to convince the police department. Now, the state government has agreed to our plea for the changed show timings which we hope will turn around the Kannada film industry and enhance the theatre revenues for other non-Kannada films as well," said actress Jayamala who heads the chamber.

The new show timings will come into effect from Friday. The first show will start at 11.15 a.m., while the timings of other shows are - 2.30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Jayamala aggressively campaigned to change the show timings after recession led to a decline in the footfalls in theatres.

The new timings are expected to attract family audience and the business community.

"There would be an increase of around 30 percent in the collections, if the new show timings stabilise in another three to four months," said Thomas D'Souza, chamber's senior vice president.

"What we are looking at is additional revenue that can come from sizable number of people from the business community, office-goers working in IT sector and their family members who were finding the present show timings unsuitable," said D'Souza, who is himself a theatre owner in the city.