Business facts of 'Small Budget Films' (published post)

Studios zoom in on small-budget films for profits
Aminah Sheikh / Mumbai September 11, 2008, 0:41 IST
Small-budget films seem to be raking in the moolah for production houses. Little wonder that filmmakers like Ghai, Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt and Pritish Nandy have over the years stuck to making small-budget films in the range of Rs 10-15 crore.
In the first week after its release, Farhan Akhtar's musical flick, Rock On, with a small budget of Rs 8-9 crore, has recovered its cost of production. Industry estimates the film to have earned over Rs 9 crore from box-office collections in the first week, with just 210 prints.
The renowned Bhatts' (Mukesh and Mahesh) recent offering, Jannat, featuring Emraan Hashmi earned them almost three times the cost of the film (Rs 10 crore). Here's how: According to Mahesh Bhatt, Jannat recovered its production cost by selling the satellite rights for Rs 10 crore and music rights for Rs 4 crore. Therefore, the theatrical earnings from the 150 prints released were a bonus (nearly Rs 24 crore).
Even a Bollywood flick like Ugly Aur Pagli with Mallika Sherawat and Ranvir Shorey, which has faced the heat from film critics, has earned its producer Pritish Nandy a handsome return on investment
When small-budget film-makers slate their movies, they sell them as a package to distributors, which cover their risk. A lion's share of earnings for such films comes from satellite and home video, while the remaining is contributed by theatres. In case of big-budget movies, nearly 70 per cent of the income comes from box-office collections.
For instance, the much-acclaimed movie Iqbal, with actor Shreyas Talpade (Rs 2.75-crore budget) earned Rs 1.3 crore from the box office, while satellite rights fetched Rs 2.25 crore and home video rights Rs 50 lakh.( Iqbal was released with 50 prints)