SCOOP: China distributors of Thugs of Hindostan back out of Rs. 110 crore minimum guarantee deal?

Just last week we had reported that the makers of Thugs of Hindostan, Yash Raj Films had entered into a deal with China based film distributor Estars Films to release the film in China. As per the deal, the Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Fatima Sana Sheikh and Katrina Kaif starrer was sold on a minimum guarantee of Rs. 110 cr.

However, now just days later we hear that the said deal has fizzled out. Apparently, the less than appreciative audience verdict and the rather low key box office collections of Thugs of Hindostan within the domestic market have made the Chinese distributors rethink their deal.

Commenting on the same, a source close to the development reveals, “Estars Films had entered into an understanding with Yash Raj Films on a Rs. 110 cr minimum guarantee, but looking at the performance of Thugs of Hindostan at the domestic box office despite the massive promotions and the wide screen count, they have decided to rework the deal.” When prodded for further details the source continued, “Under the new deal that is being worked Estars is looking at entering into a revenue sharing deal with Yash Raj Films, while foregoing the predefined MG format. Currently, the poor performance and negative reviews the film received in India and overseas is being cited as the main reason.”

Though the Rs. 110 cr. minimum guarantee deal now stands void, Yash Raj Films we hear is currently working at breakneck speed to salvage the situation. “Given this new development, the makers of Thugs of Hindostan are trying their best to see what they can save, after all this deal was a major revenue stream to recover their investments. But sadly, it seems rather unlikely that anything can be saved given the fact that Estars was clear about the previous deal being totally scrapped”, adds the source.

However, contrary to the reports, a source who works closely with the major Bollywood production house denies the same saying, “YRF never renegotiates their deals. As far as I know, the deal and the said amount are cast in stone and remain the same, nothing has changed.” Further explaining the source continued, “Thugs of Hindostan is a big film and all deals were done before its release, notwithstanding the box office collections the deal will continue to remain the same”.

While this change in deal is certainly a massive blow to the makers of Thugs of Hindostan we hear that even the release date of the film in China has now been changed. Though keeping in line with our previous report, the Chinese version of Thugs of Hindostan will see Amitabh Bachchan and Fatima Sana Sheikh’s roles being edited while enhancing Aamir Khan’s role will no longer release in December. Detailing this, the source adds, “Now that the deal between Estars Films and Yash Raj Films is being renegotiated, the release of Thug of Hindostan in China has been pushed. In fact, the film will now release only in January 2019, instead of December 2018 as mentioned earlier. But rest assured the run time of the film will be just 2 hours 21 minutes which is still shorter than the Indian version.”

However matters don’t end there. Letting out yet another detail the source tells us that unlike his previous visits to China, this time round Aamir Khan will skip his promotional visit. “Aamir Khan has become a household name in China, and given the success of his films here, the actor generally makes a trip to China to promote his films. But this time, Aamir will be giving China a miss, and will forego his usual visit to promote the film in China.” Now, with this latest bit of information, the Chinese box office prospects of Thugs of Hindostan have taken a massive blow. Given the rather competitive Chinese market and the plethora of releases, we guess only time will tell whether the Chinese release of Thugs of Hindostan will be a profitable venture for Yash Raj Films.