KOCHI: Going by its budget of Rs 25 crore, Mohanlal starrer Pulimurugan has raked in Rs 100 crore in just a month and we are still counting. That's a 300 per cent profit, right?
But knowing that film producers often inflate their costs as part of their marketing strategy, are Pulimurugan's collection figures real?
Trade experts say the inflated component of collection figures are minimal in Malayalam cinema.
“Exaggerated collection figures often invite unwelcome tax scrutiny. So while inflating the production budget may be good for marketing, it’s not such a good idea to be liberal with the returns. Also, many stars ask for a share of the profits and inflating the collections might end up costing the producer a hefty cut in his own take. But then we can't always take these figures at face value,” said Jessie Paul, marketing expert and founder and CEO of Paul Writer Strategic Advisory.
She added there is no clear mechanism to find out the actual production cost and collection figures of any film, not just Malayalam. Moreover, collections are accounted money unlike production costs.
Also collection figures are derived from theatre owners and distribution companies. Even though the accounting system of traditional cinema halls can be manipulated, multiplex ticket collections can be tracked.
According to Harish Bijoor, brand expert and founder of Harish Bijoor Consults, the real collection numbers are those authenticated and submitted for the purpose of entertainment tax returns.
“Maybe we need to depend on these in the future. But the production figures quoted by producers are often unreal,” he says.