A ccene from Brahmastra. (screen grab)
The release of much-awaited ‘Brahmastra Part One’, touted to be the most expensive Hindi film ever made, failed to enthuse Inox Leisure and PVR on D-Street. The shares ended the day over 4 percent lower as mixed reviews started trickling in from fans and film analysts.
“The movie has been getting more negative reviews than positive. We expected a lifetime box office collection of Rs 130-190 crore. With the current trend, we might end up on the lower end of that estimate,” said Karan Taurani of Elara Securities in an interview with CNBC TV-18. It is noteworthy to mention here that the movie has been made at a mammoth budget of Rs 400 crore.
Film trade expert Taran Adarsh said in a tweet that the movie was ‘disappointing’. It was ‘high on VFX, low on content’ according to him. Movie business analyst Atul Mohan found ‘Script-astra’ missing from the movie, echoing the view of several fans who termed it ‘only a visual treat’.
In the run-up to the film release, PVR and Inox Leisure shares gained 2-4 percent in the past five days. But on the big event day, the shares lost 5 percent each ending at Rs 1,833 and Rs 494, respectively on the NSE. The stocks also dragged Nifty Media 0.13 percent lower.
According to reports, advance booking for the film has crossed Rs 23 crore for the opening weekend. But, Taurani believes that with negative reviews coming in, occupancy levels might dwindle going further. Adding to cinemagoers’ woes are the high ticket prices. Tickets for the 3D screenings have been priced as high as Rs 1,200 in the Delhi-NCR region.
“July and August have been dismal when it comes to box office performance. 12-13 large films have bombed. We believe Q2FY23 will be the worst quarter for exhibitors in the last five years, as content has not been up to the mark,” said Taurani. The latest box office disappointments were Aamir Khan-starrer Laal Singh Chaddha and Akshay Kumar-starrer Raksha Bandhan.
Taurani believes things will change for the better from Q2FY24 onwards. “At the moment, we are seeing all backlog content, which were scripted 2-3 years back. During the pandemic, audience preference has changed and the industry needs time to adapt to this.”
When it comes to the stock metrics, Taurani believes Inox and PVR are trading at reasonable valuations. Approvals for the merger of the two will be a big trigger for the stocks, he believes. In fact, PVR has called a meeting of its shareholders and creditors on October 11 to seek their approval for the scheme of merger with Inox Leisure.
Other brokerages too continue to be bullish on the stocks. Emkay Global has Buy call on PVR with a target price of Rs 2,340. Prabhudas Lilladher has Buy call on Inox Leisure with a target price of Rs 699.
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