KKR boss Shah Rukh Khan and skipper Sourav Ganguly can bring the crowds to Eden, but not to the multiplex. A Telegraph picture

Bollywood and cricket don’t sell.

If the Bollywood in question is non-starry and the cricket is playing on the big screen for a price (not free on TV).

That’s the lesson city plexes have learnt the hard way. Small Bolly releases are not bringing in the filmi crowd and the IPL matches priced at Rs 200-plus are going empty, making March-April the most miserable months for multiplexes.

“This is the bleakest period for cinemas with losses running into crores,” says Mumbai-based trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

The primary reason for the box-office bust has been the lack of good content, with producers refusing to release big films in the exam-then-IPL season. The result has been a flood of films — small-budget, non-starry and long-delayed — Friday after Friday, with most flopping on the first day and the rest in the first weekend.

The highlights of the star line-up have been the likes of Rohit Roy and Aditya Narayan, Dia Mirza and Minissha Lamba. Get the picture?

“There are too many below-average films releasing. The common viewer does not have the time, the money or the inclination to watch so many films,” adds Adarsh.

Agrees Virendra Marya, the regional director of INOX: “This is traditionally a weak period for cinemas and with the IPL on, the new releases have failed to push up numbers.” If it was six films last Friday, it’s going to be four this week, all being released in stock-clearance-sale mode.

No one turned up to watch Arbaaz Khan in Prem Kaa Game

The game plan to screen the shortest format of India’s favourite game to tide over the Bollywood yawn has been caught stadium and bowled TV.

“I would rather watch a match in the comfort of my home or in the electric atmosphere of Eden Gardens. The idea of watching cricket at a multiplex for the price of a movie ticket doesn’t appeal to me,” says Ballygunge resident Sanjib Sengupta.

Agrees actress June: “I watched the first match at Eden and I plan to go for the last one on the 19th. For the rest of the matches, I really don’t see the point of spending money at the plexes.”

The promise of a stadium atmosphere, sexy cheerleaders or bonding over KKR matches hasn’t found takers for the IPL screenings at the plexes.

“The live IPL screenings haven’t caught on. The numbers have been less than expected, even for the KKR matches,” reveals a plex source.

“Since it’s the first year (of this experiment), the screenings haven’t managed a sizeable crowd,” concedes Marya of INOX.

If the KKR (non-Eden) matches have still found a few takers, the non-KKR ones have been non-starters. “We have even had to cancel a lot of screenings owing to poor occupancies,” adds the plex source.

Now all eyes are on the last week of this month — the IPL final on April 25 could yet lure some to the big screen, hope the plexes.

But there is no hope of the happy days being back on the big screens till big Bollywood makes a comeback. First in line, the Akshay Kumar multi-starrer Housefull on April 30.

“I am waiting for the big films to start releasing again. I am particularly looking forward to (Hrithik Roshan’s) Kites and (Ranbir Kapoor-Katrina Kaif-Ajay Devgn starrer) Raajneeti,” says actress Swastika Mukherjee, a plex regular before the big lull on the big screen.

KKR boss Shah Rukh Khan and skipper Sourav Ganguly can bring the crowds to Eden, but not to the multiplex