Big gainer: A still from Chowrasta which has bagged 27 daily shows at plexes

Three down at Fame (South City). Two down at Fame (Hiland Park). One each down at INOX (Forum), INOX (City Centre) and INOX (Swabhumi).

Not the scorecard in IPL, but the screen casualty count in the revenue-sharing row playing at a multiplex near you.

Screens are shutting down fast and furious following the boycott of plexes by Bollywood producers since April 4. The dispute over weekly percentage of revenue sharing — the producers want a new 50:50 arrangement while the plexes want the present formula fixed on the basis of banner and star power to stay — has brought Aamir and Shah Rukh to the same platform, but not the warring parties.

“Yes we have already shut down half the screens because we have to cut operational costs and I have no qualms in admitting that we may shut down the entire property in the near future,” Shravan Shroff of Fame Cinemas told Metro. “It’s simple — there’s no supply of content and we are incurring losses every day.”

The last two weeks have seen average occupancy at the plexes plummeting to “10 to15 per cent”, proving yet again that the plexes can’t do without Bollywood, just as Bollywood can’t do without the plexes (that’s why there are no new releases on single screens either).

And things can only get worse. May 1 is the Friday when plexes in town may start shutting down if no solution is in sight. “I don’t see any talks happening between the producers and us. Their two main stars won’t even be in the country (Aamir will be on holiday in the US for two months and Shah Rukh will be in South Africa for the IPL). In such a scenario we would have to close down our properties,” explained Shravan.

While INOX officials have been told to stay mum on the matter, a source in the plex chain said that initially the idea was to cut costs by doing away with the night shows.

“But with no fresh content coming in, we are left with no option but to shut down a screen at each of the properties and save on air-conditioning and electricity.”

The big loser of course is the Bollywood junkie. “Watching a new Hindi film every weekend is a must for us friends because it is the best de-stresser,” says 27-year-old IT professional Sootanu Maitra, a plex patron for four years. “We are just waiting for the ban to be lifted.”

The big gainer till that happens? Anjan Dutt’s Chowrasta, which released this Friday with 27 daily shows at the plexes — a record for a Tollywood film in town.

“I am happy that my film is the big release at the plexes this weekend. Usually when it’s just one show at the plex, there are no options for the viewers. Now with up to five shows at a single multiplex, they can choose when they want to go,” said the director.

But forthcoming Tollywood films may not be able to cash in as the producers and distributors in this part of the world threaten to join their Bollywood colleagues in shunning the plexes.

“We as part of the Eastern India Motion Picture Association (EIMPA) are contemplating not to give any new films to the plexes from later this month.

They can run the films they already have but we may even ask the old prints back from May 1,” says distributor and exhibitor Arijit Dutta.