MUMBAI: The budget of Hindi films has changed a lot over the years. Previously the box office returns was majorly dependent on if the producer's stake was remunerated or not. Nowadays however, with music rights, digital rights and satellite rights have taken center stage, theatrical revenue is not even a concern anymore. 

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A recently released Hindi film has faced this, becoming the Indian cinemas biggest disaster ever. Ajay Bahl’s thriller The Lady Killer stars Arjun Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar and is directed by Ajay Bahl. The film was made on a budget of Rs 45 Crores. As per reports the film ran into production delays because of postponement in shooting schedules.    

In October the film was still incomplete and there were talks that another schedule would be held in November to finish the shoot. However the makers simply dropped the trailer  a few days before the film’s release  and announced a limited theatrical release of the film. Ultimately, The Lady Killer was released only in a dozen theaters all over India with 293 tickets sold on day 1 and grossing Rs 38000. The film’s lifetime collection was Rs  Lakh only.

The Lady Killer is one the few films that were released incomplete in the theaters. Neither the director nor the actors promoted the film. A contractual obligation was the reason behind this bizarre release strategy. Reportedly the film’s digital release deadline was December-end, which meant the film needed to have a theatrical release by early November to have a stipulated 4-6 week theatrical release window. As the digital revenge held importance for the makers, they took the decision to release the incomplete film in a handful of theaters which led to this disastrous performance of the film.  

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The Lady Killer’s total collection won’t even reach 0.1% of its landing cost. Although the  producers decided to release the half completed product, the makers will still make a profit from the non-theatrical rights.

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Credit-DNA