UFO Moviez announces foray into film distribution

Bengaluru: UFO Moviez, one of the country's largest digital cinema distribution network and in-cinema advertising platform has announced its foray into film distribution with an intent to consolidate and position itself as a one-stop pan India film distributor. Extending its distribution operations across the length and breadth of the country and helping theatres re-open with an assured line-up of 11 Hindi. It will release on an average one film every week in 2021. With this, the network seeks to build a robust professional architecture to effectively handle the film distribution throughout India using its own infrastructure

Redefining the category, UFO Moviez will provide ease-of-access of content to cinemas for single screen and independent multiplexes every week and enable independent filmmakers to release their content to a wider set of audience. To begin with, UFO Moviez has also partnered with Jio Studios for the nationwide distribution of their upcoming movies Ram Prasad ki Tehrvi and Aadhar.

The model based on revenue share will eliminate the minimum guarantee (MG) system and deliver economies of scale for cinema operators thereby strengthening small to large-scale film studios. Through its extensive network, UFO will amplify the distribution reach and present an all-year round regional, and independent content line-up covering 52-weeks. Catering to the diverse audience of India, it will take regional movies to relevant audiences across the country; it will also bring popular south Indian dubbed films to the Hindi speaking market.

It kickstarts with a stellar bouquet of cinema that includes such diverse genre of films like Shakeela, the biopic of a popular South Indian film star, a contemporary of Silk Smitha (featuring Pankaj Tripathi, Richa Chadda set to release on 25thDecember), Ram Prasad ki Tehrvi, a delightful comedy about death and dying (starring Naseeruddin Shah, Konkona Sen Sharma, Vikrant Massey releasing on 1st January), 12 O'Clock, a horror thriller from the stable of Ram Gopal Verma, Aadhar – a satirical social drama about identity, Dangerous – an unconventional love story, Disha Encounter and Murder -both fast paced thrillers from Ram Gopal Verma and Flight – a high-octane action thriller film..

Commenting on the new business expansion, Kapil Agarwal, Joint Managing Director, UFO Moviez says, "The global pandemic has catalysed the industry's transition manifold by upending the content pipeline by bringing production to a halt, shutting down cinemas, and severely impacting consumer's confidence for visiting physical venues. Added to that, the shrinking of theatrical windows and the growth of streaming has further accelerated the need for change.

UFO Moviez's extensive consolidation of operations will set-in-motion Industry's recovery by prompting the revival of theatre viewing amongst the audiences. The renewed model will also help exhibitors, producers and content-creators explore the under-penetrated markets across India. It will address the existing gaps in India's film distribution market and provide a democratized platform that will hopefully spark a new era of cinema viewing in the country."