MUMBAI // Indian sporting enthusiasts have been spoiled by back-to-back cricket tournaments since February, but the events' popularity has cost the Bollywood film industry, already reeling under the economic slowdown.
The cricket frenzy, which peaked when the Indian team won the World Cup this month, is keeping fans away from cinemas, affecting ticket sales and forcing studios to delay big releases.
The Indian Premier League (IPL), which began with much fanfare less than a week after the World Cup ended, only made matters worse for Bollywood.
Industry watchers say multiplex cinema chains, which account for 75 per cent of a film's earnings, lost up to 500 million rupees (Dh41.3m) in the past two months.
Angel Broking, based in Mumbai, estimates ticket sales at theatres declined by up to 15 per cent in this period. The extent of the loss will be known only when the IPL ends at the end of next month.
The official IPL telecaster Set Max is expecting a windfall this season of about 10 billion rupees, a third more than last season. ESPN Star Sports, the World Cup broadcaster, earned 8bn rupees.
"The calendar year 2011 is poised to be the biggest in the history of ESPN Star Sports in India," Rathindra Basu, the senior director for business development at the channel, said before the start of the Cup.
Cricket and Bollywood, two of India's biggest obsessions, have seldom competed for business, but the battle for viewers has intensified since the two tournaments started.
"During the cricket season, it does not make business sense to release big-banner movies," says Alok Tandon, the chief executive of the multiplex chain Inox Leisure.
Thank You, one of the few films released this month, received a tepid response at the box office. Dum Maro Dum, another big-budget film, is not expected to do bumper business when released tomorrow despite its bankable stars Abhishek Bachchan and Deepika Padukone.
India's film industry is the largest in the world by ticket sales and number of movies produced each year. Bollywood and other regional language cinemas produce more than 1,000 films a year in 20 languages, the global consultancy Ernst & Young says.
Almost 3.3 billion movie tickets are sold every year, the highest number of any country, across 10,000 theatre screens.
But in recent years the movie business has sharp slowed. KPMG estimates revenues declined by a fifth in the past three years to $1.85bn last year from $2.3bn in 2008.
Bollywood had a string of flops last year, resulting in losses of between 4bn rupees and 5bn rupees.
Dabangg, a Hindi blockbuster that starred Salman Khan, was the biggest hit of the year, earning 1.45bn rupees.
But many other big-budget movies starring big stars flopped. Less than a quarter of the 237 films released last year turned a profit, according to Box Office India.
Most of this year's big-budget films are to be released after next month.
Multiplex owners are exploring new ways to increase audiences until then. Some have demanded that the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) give them broadcast rights for IPL matches.
Mr Tandon says Inox screened the semi-final and final matches of the World Cup at its multiplexes to packed houses.
business@thenational.ae
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner Thabet Al Reef, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Blue Diamond, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6.30pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Shoja’A Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Heros De Lagarde, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner Good Tidings, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
