The decision of Indian film fraternity to not release their movies in Pakistan following Pulwama attack will have a fleeting effect on the box office collections, believe experts.
In the wake of the February 14 terror attack, which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF jawans, makers of films such as "Total Dhamaal", "Luka Chuppi", "Arjun Patiala", "Notebook" and "Kabir Singh" have announced not to screen the movies in the neighbouring country.
Bollywood trade analyst Taran Adarsh says Indian films have great viewership in Pakistan but the collection from the country does not contribute much to the worldwide box office numbers of Hindi films.
He, however, believes it would be detrimental to the earnings of distributors in Pakistan.
"There are about 150 screens in Pakistan. Like us, they also love Hindi movies. They make very few films. Also, you cannot show Hollywood films round-the-clock. Indian films are a big addiction... It is going to be tough for them as it is a small market for us," Adarsh told PTI.
Echoing Adarsh's views, city-based film exhibitor Akshay Rathi says the exhibition sector of Pakistan will be more affected by the decision.
"The impact of Indian films not releasing in Pakistan will be massive on exhibition sector there, but it will be minuscule for Indian producers. Lots of consumption of Indian films happens through piracy and the kind of collection that comes out of Pakistan is very less as compared to other territories," he adds.
According to Rathi, on an average, Hindi films do a business of about Rs 4-7 crores in Pakistan.
The biggest hit from Bollywood in Pakistan is Salman Khan's 2016 Eid blockbuster "Sultan", amassing Rs 37 crore. Salman's 2015 cross-border drama "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" minted Rs 23 crore in the country.
Aamir Khan-starrers "Dhoom 3" and "PK" earned Rs 25 crore and Rs 22 crore respectively, while Shah Rukh Khan's "Fan" grossed Rs 6.5 crore.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Bajirao Mastani" collected Rs 9 crore and "Race 2", featuring Saif Ali Khan, did a business of Rs 4.93 crore.
Rahul Kadbet, Vice President, Programming at Carnival Cinemas, says, Pakistan contributes around "four to six" per cent to the total collection of Indian films.
"The losses can be amortized from other avenues like exploiting new media platforms. A blockbuster Indian film hardly grosses four to six per cent of Indian box office in Pakistan and for a regular film, it is even less."
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