Mammootty’s Rorschach to run for a minimum 50 days in Kerala theatres, according to deal with film exhibitors

At a time when movies are pulled off from theatres after a month, the makers and distributors of Mammootty’s upcoming movie Rorschach have reportedly signed a deal with Kerala film exhibitors to run the movie for a minimum of 50 days in theatres.

A document signed by Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films, which is distributing the film, has been doing rounds on Twitter – suggesting the movie will release on September 29 in time for the pooja holidays.

It’s a huge commitment by the team as well as the theatres. But it has also been welcomed by the theatre owners, who have been expressing their concern over movies hitting OTT platforms within a month of its release, prompting audiences to wait for movies to drop on the streaming services and hence leading to a decrease in footfall in cinema halls.

While theatre owners have repeatedly asked to extend the window of theatrical and OTT releases, several producers have said that it doesn’t make financial sense to them, especially when there is no guarantee that the audience would flock to theatres like the pre-pandemic days.

A heartening trend though in the past month is that big Malayalam releases such as Nivin Pauly’s Mahaveeryar, Fahadh Faasil’s Malayankunju, Tovino Thomas’ Thallumaala and Kunchacko Boban’s Nna Thaan Case Kodu have all managed to bring audience back to theatres. In fact, the latter two reportedly crossed Rs 25 crore in worldwide box office collection, benefitting from a long weekend and largely positive reviews.

Exhibitors will be hoping this continues during the Onam season too, with several big releases including Prithviraj Sukumaran and Alphonse Puthren’s Gold, Kunchacko Boban’s Ottu, Siju Wilson’s Pathonpathaam Noottaandu, Biju Menon’s Oru Thekkan Thallu Case and Basil Joseph’s Paaltu Jaanwar set to hit theatres.

Meanwhile, Mammootty’s Rorschach will go up against Mohanlal’s Monster and Suresh Gopi’s Mei Hoom Moosa in a box-office battle reminiscent of the big clashes in the 1990s.