Both Mr. Bachchan and Double Smart could turn out to be major disappointments. If that happens, the producers may be safe but the buyers who invested in these films will suffer significant losses.

Mythri Distributors acquired the rights of ‘Mr. Bachchan’ for Rs 12.60 crore in the Naizam area. A few months ago, they made a profit of around Rs 7-8 crore by distributing the film ‘Salaar’. However, the losses of the current film will erode the profits made from ‘Salaar’.

Prime Show producers have recouped earlier losses with Hanuman and acquired the worldwide rights to Double iSmart. Although there is speculation about possible losses, it seems clear that the profits from Hanuman are likely to offset the losses from Double iSmart.

The situation is particularly difficult for Mr. Bachchan in the Naizam region. The rights were sold in the Andhra market on an “advance basis”, which meant that the distribution losses had to be mitigated by future releases by People’s Media.

Apart from ‘Dhamaka’, all other films have caused losses for People’s Media. Films like ‘Ramabanam’, ‘Maname’, ‘Eagle’ and ‘Mr. Bachchan’ have incurred significant losses. Tollywood circles estimate that the total losses of these four films exceed Rs 100 crore.

Can Prabhas’ ‘Rajasaab’ be able to make Rs 100 crore profit and thereby offset these losses? If Rajasaab and Mirai fail, People’s Media’s ‘Vishwam’, ‘Swag’ etc. are not the films that can make huge profits and thereby offset all the past losses.