BRAHMASTRA: THE CONTROVERSY BETWEEN THE GROSS & NETT COLLECTIONS REPORTS, COMPILED BY JYOTHI VENKATESH

Brahmastra’s varying box office numbers have started a debate about ‘fake’ box office figures and manipulation of data. According to a report in hindustantimes.com, a breakdown on just how box office numbers have been calculated and the reason divulged why Brahmastra is reporting different figures - Jyothi Venkatesh

However, how much Brahmastra has earned at the box office has no one answer. The film has reported a number of different figures from different sources. These differing figures can be confusing for many and obviously raise some doubts.

Kangana Ranaut believes the makers are ‘faking’ the numbers. The real reason is less sinister. Across India, and in the West, the box office collections of films are calculated in a number of different ways, resulting in different earnings for the same film. Here’s a breakdown on why that is so and exactly how much Brahmastra has earned.

Brahmastra, directed by Ayan Mukerji, was released in theatres on September 9 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. It has done well in the Hindi belt, Telugu centres, as well as the US, Australia, and New Zealand.

This mix of languages and countries is what has made data collection for Brahmastra quite challenging.

What is the difference between nett and gross?

In her allegations against Brahmastra producer Karan Johar, Kangana Ranaut questioned why he was sharing the film’s gross collections instead of nett. What is the difference, one might ask.

Quite simply, gross box office collection refers to the total amount made from the ticket sales of the movie. It is always a higher figure.

Nett box office collection is gross minus the amount cut by the government in various kinds of taxes, including service tax, GST and entertainment tax. Since these taxes differ from state to state, the nett can differ from one state to another even with the same gross.

A third aspect of the box office figures is distributor share, which, as the name suggests, is the amount distributors get. It is nett collection minus the rental charged by theatres.

So how exactly does this fit in with the Brahmastra saga? According to the trade figures, divulged by the distributors, the film has so far earned ₹225 crore in gross collections worldwide.

This does not mean the producers or even the distributors have earned this much. Their share of the revenue is much lower. If any source gives a lower number for worldwide collection, it is not a discrepancy but quite possible that the figure is of nett collections.

Collections are calculated differently in different places. The film industry is not a homogenous and uniform body. Each region and country has a different way of doing things.

So for instance, in the US, collections are reported in gross figures, while in Bollywood, nett figures are usually reported. To make the matters more complex, South India usually reports gross figures.

Thankfully, nobody has resorted to reporting distributor shares as of yet or that will be a whole new problem. These varying methodologies have resulted in the biggest confusion around Brahmastra’s numbers.

On Monday, the trade portal BoxOfficeIndia.com reported that Brahmastra had made ₹105 crore in its first weekend. Industry tracker Sacnilk reported that the film had made ₹146 crore in three days in India.

The difference is that the first number is just the nett collections of the Hindi version while the second version is the gross collection of all language versions. There is no manipulation, just different industries following different patterns.

Even advance booking is calculated in two ways. If it wasn’t enough that the box office collections are calculated in different ways, then the advance booking numbers are no different.

According to Sacnilk, the advance booking sales for Brahmastra for the opening day were ₹17.71 crore across all languages and versions.

However, some trade analysts report a higher number of ₹22 crore. Many allege manipulations. But it turns out, both numbers are accurate. It’s just that sharing the second isn’t exactly ethical.

The higher figure of ₹22.18 crore includes the collection from blocked seats. These seats refer to those that you cannot book online. Most theatres keep a certain number of seats aside that one can only book at the physical ticket counter.

Some analysts include them in advance booking figures since these seats aren’t available. However, doing that would be wrong since these seats haven’t actually been sold. The tickets are there ‘for the taking’ at the counter.

An industry insider says that there is some kind of ‘fudging’ as all producers try to show the highest possible figure but the total extent of that never exceeds 5-10%.

“Beyond that, you can’t put out false numbers because multiple people have access to it. Your lie will be called out,” says an exhibitor.

What makers do to avoid embarrassment when the numbers are way below expectation is that they stop releasing numbers altogether. Radhe Shyam and Dhaakad are two recent examples of that choice.

In the end, how much an Indian film earns at the box office is always a ballpark figure, and never an exact one. Due to absence of a streamlined tracking system and presence of multiple formulae, Indian box office cannot be compared to the West, where things are more streamlined.

However, the real figure eventually does come out and the same can be said for Brahmastra. If multiple credible sources report that it has earned somewhere between ₹212 and ₹225 crore, it’s a safe bet that it’s an accurate range.

The movie, which was released in over 8,000 screens in five languages - Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada languages, earned Rs 37 crore on the first day.

The collection witnessed about 20 per cent growth on its second day as it raked in Rs 42 crore. On the third day, it came out with flying colors by earning Rs 46 crore to end its opening weekend business at Rs 125 crore (net business) at the domestic box office.The film is estimated to have grossed over Rs 150 crore from India in three days.

Close to 90 per cent of the collection has come from the Hindi version as the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam versions raked in just about Rs 16 crore from three days.

From the overseas centres, it has grossed about Rs 75 crore. The performance of the film has led many to claim that 'Brahmastra' is a 'hit' film at the box office. How true it is?

By the way, for the unversed, while the multiplexes like INOX, PVR , Cinepolis and Carnival demand and get 60 percent of the collections during the first week, 50 per cent during the second week and 40 per cent during the third week from the distributors, the single screens demand and get a fixed rental which ranges from Rs 40,000 to Rs 1 lakh for the entire week from the distributors, depending upon where the single screen is situated and in which territory, 'Brahmastra' was made with an estimated budget of Rs 410 crore and the film requires at least another four to five days breaching into Rs 400-crore mark. Even then, it will not be considered a hit flick as it is just a gross collection.

As per the trade trackers, 'Brahmastra' which has recovered around 30-35 per cent, should gross over Rs 900 crore in order to earn 'super hit' status at the box office and enter the profit zone.

However, some are of the view that the multilingual film might be declared a successful film even if it crosses Rs 550-600 crore mark by taking on the value of its non-theatrical rights (audio, OTT and satellite rights).

The estimated value of non-theatrical rights of 'Brahmastra' is around Rs 150-200 crore. However, according to the portal one india.com, trade trackers are of the view that 'Brahmastra' should manage to retain the momentum in order to become a successful flick.