Chennai: After eight months of Coronavirus pandemic, theatres in Tamilnadu opened today.
The government gave permission to open cinema halls from 10 November with 50 per cent occupancy and instructed to follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
Quite surprisingly, Tamil Film Active Producers Association (TFAPA), announced that there will be no new Tamil movie releases until the Virtual Print Fee (VPF) charges demanded by digital service providers are taken care of by the theatre owners.
So the multiplexes have decided to play the old hit movies. For the first time in the history of Tamil cinema, there are no new releases this festive season in theatres.
Oh My Kadavule, Kannum Kannum Kollayadithaal, Dharala Prabhu, Joker and My Spy are being re-released.
This Deepavali, movies like Suriya’s Soorarai Pottru, RJ Balaji-Nayanthara’s Mookuthi Amman will be out on OTT.
Meanwhile in a bid to pacify producers and get some new releases, Qube Cinema, a leading provider of end-to-end digital cinema technology solutions, has announced a 100 per cent waiver of Virtual Print Fee for the month of November 2020 for all filmmakers to help release new movies post the lockdown.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has brought cinema production and distribution to a grinding halt. As different industries are slowly resuming business, Qube believes that it is imperative that all stakeholders in the industry support each other during the revival.”
Only charges for logistics of content delivery and key management, both for DCI and E-Cinema content, will be applicable, they said. However with no releases, the crowd in theatres have been minimal.