Ticket sales worth millions, but how accurate are the claims?

Eight days have passed since the release of Eid films. Each day, various film-related groups have been presenting different figures regarding ticket sales. For the same film, some claim ticket sales of Tk 40 million (Tk 4 crore), while others report Tk 20 million (Tk 2 crore). This has created confusion within Dhallywood.

Some of these groups are citing Star Cineplex as a source of revenue data. However, Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, senior manager of Media and Marketing at Star Cineplex, said, “We have not made any statement regarding film earnings. Those who are referring to us are actually using our online ticket sales and number of shows to estimate figures.”

“Some of that information may be reliable. For instance, if there are 100 shows, they analyse how many were houseful and how many seats were vacant, and publish data accordingly. It is not difficult to obtain such information online these days,” he added.

Some of those associated with the films released on Eid believe that while the earnings of one or two films may reflect a somewhat accurate picture, most figures are based on estimation. Others suggest that some parties are deliberately spreading misleading information.

Producer of the film Domm, Shahriar Shakil said, “Our film is performing well. However, most of the revenue figures circulating in various places are not accurate. Some are providing fabricated information. Since we do not have an official box office system, we do not wish to disclose figures at this stage.”

Regarding the film Bonolota Express, director Tanim Noor said he had seen differing figures about the film’s earnings in several places. While some sources provided credible data, many shared incorrect information.

He said, “We always want to publish accurate figures. After Eid, we released ticket sales data for the first four days, which exceeded Tk 10 million (Tk 1 crore). Yesterday, we released eight-day earnings, which stand at Tk 22.6 million (Tk 2.26 crore).

Many have taken information from our page, which is fine. But some are claiming the earnings are only between Tk 10 million and Tk 20 million (Tk 1 crore and 2 crore), which is not correct. This actually refers to gross sales.”

Of the five films released during Eid, the remaining three—Prince, Rakkhosh, and Pressure Cooker—have not officially released any earnings data.