The tenth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has more takers than the previous one, with the first 23 days of the season witnessing a spike in the number of people catching the action live on their TV sets.
However, it would be interesting to see if the cricketing extravaganza manages to keep this momentum going against SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus ‘Bahubali 2: The Conclusion’.
The film released today at 8000 screens across India, with fans making a beeline to quench their curiosity over “why Kattappa killed Bahubali?”.
It may be recalled that during the first few seasons of IPL, film producers refrained from releases during the 40-45 days period. They feared that movie would not see the footfalls it would garner otherwise.
But then, things are different when the film in question is a Bahubali franchise. The first part, which ended at perhaps the most titillating junctures in recent cinema history, opened to blockbuster collections in the range of Rs 50 crore on day one and went on to collect a massive Rs 650 crore (gross) at the worldwide box-office. The Rs 250-crore franchise is expected to take a record opening, getting close to or even exceeding its predecessor’s record.
Buoyed by the super success of the first part, Rajamouli clearly did not have IPL on his mind while deciding the release date of the second franchise. And rightly so.
‘Bahubali 2: The Conclusion’ has made Rs 500 crore even before its release. Experts and trade analysts expect the movie to outdo its prequel and rake in around Rs 1,000 crore (gross worldwide) in its life time. Experts bet that the opening day figure could breach Rs 80 crore (gross).
Going by the craze the film has managed to generate among cinemagoers ever since the second part was announced, records are bound to be shattered.
This should come as a cause of concern for IPL organisers which has been elated with the gains it has made in the opening days of the tournament. In a statement, IPL claimed that season 10 has been performing at 14 per cent higher TVRs as compared to IPL9 with an average of 3.0 TVRs (23 matches).
In the first 23 days of the tournament, except for Delhi and Punjab, venue markets have shown a significant growth in terms of both TVRs & reach.
“The Gujarat Lions vs Royal Challengers Bangalore match was the highest rated where both Virat and Gayle had put up a match winning performance with 3.7 TVRs followed by Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians with 3.6 TVRs,” the statement said.
In terms of Channel performance, Sony MAX(8 per cent) & Sony SIX(44 per cent) have grown in terms of TVRs and reach. Sony ESPN has grown by 8 per cent in terms of reach compared to last year in Week 3 of the tournament.
Time spent for the tournament has grown by 18 per cent as compared to last year with an average of 32.48 minutes.
Mumbai Indians has shown the highest loyalty with their home market being the highest with 8.2 TVRs followed by Rising Pune Supergiants at 6.2 TVRs. Lowest being Kings XI Punjab at 2.3 TVRs.
This season of the IPL, that began on April 5, is banking on fans sticking to.
While ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’ is the sequel of ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’, it is the first Telugu film released in 4K High Definition format. Media reports said that around 200 screens were upgraded to 4K projectors before the release date of the film.
