'Sky Force' makers accused of artificially inflating box office numbers

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar’s ‘Sky Force’ landed in a controversy when its makers were accused of artificially inflating box office numbers.

To Read Lifestyle Stories in Urdu – Click Here

After giving several flops in recent years, the film was considered the Bollywood actor’s first solo hit.

Notably, Akshay Kumar co-starred alongside Veer Pahariya, Sara Ali Khan and Nimrat Kaur in the war drama ‘Sky Force’, directed by debutante filmmakers Sandeep Kewlani and Abhishek Kapur.

However, the makers of the film found themselves in the middle of a controversy after a trade analyst accused them of ‘block booking’ or ‘self-buying.’

‘Block booking’ is a practice where a production house or an actor purchases multiple tickets for their film to inflate its box office numbers.

After ‘Sky Force’ producers claimed that the film earned INR111.7 crore in its first week, box office tracker Komal Nahta dismissed the claims.

“The total for 1st week was Rs. 40.50 crore. Of course, the records will show total collections of Rs. 80 crore but that’s because heavy block booking of the unsold tickets was done on each single day of the first week to give the impression that the film was performing extraordinarily at the ticket counters,” he was quoted as saying by Indian media outlets.

Responding to the allegations, ‘Sky Force’ co-director Sandeep Kewlani denied being involved in block booking.

“As for Chhaava or Sky Force, our collections are genuinely organic and there have been no block bookings,” Kewlani said.

“Our work is over once the film is made and has reached the public. How much a film is earning is not something you will remember in the long term. If your favourite film is Munna Bhai and I ask you about its box office collection, you won’t know today. In the long run, the film’s collection doesn’t matter. The impact of the film and how long it stays with you becomes important,” Sandeep Kewlani added.