It is said that 'the hero's turn comes last'! Actor Anmol KC has faced many allegations for not being able to sustain the box office in the last few years. It was a topic of discussion in the film industry that a hero who received the tag of 'megastar' did not make a mark at the box office. However, this time Anmol has firmly established himself at the box office with 'Jerry on Top'. Anmol's films have started climbing the box office, surpassing the business of the much-awaited films in Dashain.

This time in Dashain, famous faces like Sameer Bhatt, Dheeraj Magar and Harivansh Acharya had come to the theaters on the same date. Seeing the excitement of last year, it was estimated that Sameer's film would bring a flood of viewers to the theaters. Dheeraj and Harivansh were also no less competitive. However, this time these films could not repeat the scene seen in Dashain last year at the domestic box office. Meanwhile, Anmol's film 'Jerry On Top', which entered the theaters only during Tihar, seems to have done an encouraging business. According to the box office report released by the Film Development Board, Anmol's film 'Jerry On Top' has done a business of Rs 65,146,501 till last Saturday. Anmol's film achieved this business figure after selling more than one lakh tickets. Producer Saroj Neupane claims that this is the highest-grossing film in Anmol's career, considering the business figures. 'This is the highest-grossing film in Anmol's career,' said producer Neupane. 'Jerry on Top' has already recovered the film's investment when combined with its performances abroad and in Nepal. 'The film is moving towards profitability after recovering the investment, says producer Neupane. Along with Nepal, the film is currently screening simultaneously in Europe, America, Australia and New Zealand. The film earned Rs 7.4 million on Sunday alone. It did around Rs 8.5 million on Monday and Rs 4.8 million on Tuesday. So far, the film has done more than Rs 9 million in Nepal alone. The film has done more than Rs 13 million in business abroad so far. However, producer Saroj feels that the business has not been as expected. 'I had spent a little bit of money on the film. I thought it would have been a little bit better. But, considering the situation in the country, the film's inability to do business during Dashain, I was worried that there would be a loss. But, this has been an unexpected business,' Neupane told Kantipur. Since the environment for the investment made in the

film has already been created, he does not see any room for discouragement for the producer. He says that Anmol's film has been doing well since the first day of its release because the audience liked the film. According to him, the film earned more than Rs 72 lakh on the first day itself. On the ninth day of its release, it earned more than Rs 1 crore in a single day. 'My film's box office has increased. Foreign films have not had much of an impact. It is also earning in terms of business,' he sounded confident.

Director Santosh Sen says that even though the film did not do as well as expected at the domestic box office,

'Balidan'

has done satisfactory business. According to the box office report, Sameer Bhatt's 'Balidan' earned Rs 57.31 million. However, it was expected that Sameer's film would do poorly at the box office this time compared to last year's Dashain. Sen, who is also a producer, had invested Rs 60 million in the film. However, the box office did not give the same amount of happiness as Sen had thought by spending crores on the film. 'It is okay to earn Rs 50 million at the Nepal box office. The film did not do very well in the initial business. The film was affected by floods and landslides for 2 days. But in such a situation, doing business of five crores is also satisfactory,' said Sen, who is also a producer, 'It is good for a film that has been released throughout the year to do business at this figure.' As a , Sen had expected a flood of viewers for 'Balidan'. How could it not? Last year, Sameer's film had lured the audience to the theaters. It had brought crores of profit to the producer. This was the expectation for 'Balidan'. However, the film could not gather the expected audience in the theaters. Since the investment has been raised, producer Sen is now satisfied with the business earned. 'From the producer's point of view, the investment is safe. There are very few films in Nepal that do business of 5 crores in a year. It is satisfactory when you look at all these aspects,' said Sen. Sen had already sold the digital rights of the film abroad during the filming. The same foreign business saved the investment of 'Balidan'. This time, the ban on social media, the Gen-G movement and the events created by it directly affected Nepali films. Some films scheduled for release during Phulpati had to change their release dates. The 'publicity expenses' of the films, which were in the final preparations for release after the promotion, were skyrocketing. Despite the turmoil in the country, producer Sen dared to release 'Balidan' on the scheduled date. 'Hari Bahadur's Shoes' and

'Maitighar'

showed the same bravery. Even in such a situation in the country, doing business of more than five crores is also an added encouragement for producer Sen. 'There was nothing to discourage.' But, when such an accident happened in the country, we dared to show it in the hall. We showed the film in the hall to create an environment that would bring the audience to the hall. It has added excitement rather than disappointment,' he said. However, the screening of 'Balidan' has given Sen a new experience - to have a strong presence at the box office, a good environment for screening a film should be created. If the film does a great initial business, the box office graph will go up. And, on top of that, if the 'content' is strong, then the fragrance will be added to the gold! Producer Saroj Oli, who started making films through songs/music, was afraid of what kind of presence 'Hari Bahadur's Shoes' would have at the box office amidst the events caused by the Gen-G movement and floods and landslides. He was afraid that the initial investment made in the film would go to waste. However, by combining domestic box office earnings, digital rights and advertising, he has also secured investment from 'Hari Bahadur Ko Jutta'. The same encouragement he received from the first film has also given him the courage to make a second film. Recently, he has also announced that he will make a new film. According to the box office report, 'Hari Bahadur Ko Jutta' starring Harivansh Acharya has earned Rs 40 million, 70 million, 73 thousand 887. 'The film's money has been raised. I am satisfied. The film cost Rs 33.7 million,' said Saroj Oli, 'It will take 20 million from the hall, the investment has been secured only with the rights sold abroad.' This kind of box office experience is also an opportunity for Saroj to gain new experience. He says, 'If you make a film with an investment of up to Rs 20 million, you can raise the investment by selling the digital rights. If you spend Rs 100 million, it will be difficult.' In the experience of the exhibitors, this time too, few viewers visited the hall. The current situation in the country has reduced the number of viewers. In the case of 'Maitighar', which was made with an investment of about 40 million, there were also fewer viewers. Producer Rohit Adhikari had thought of raising the film's investment from the hall. However, the film did not get the audience it expected. 'Around 19 million will come from the hall, the investment will be raised through digital rights and foreign screenings. However, there will be a slight loss,' said Rohit. According to the box office report till Saturday, the film has done a business of 41 million 17 thousand 208 rupees. The film was taken out of the hall after Saturday. If the film had still received that in the hall, producer Rohit was confident that the business of 'Maitighar' would have increased. 'The money to raise the money from the hall was not raised from there. On the day our film was released from the hall, the audience occupancy was very good. A single show in Bhaktapur hall fetched 53,000 tickets, the next day our film was not there,' Rohit said, 'A show in Labim also fetched 55,000 tickets, the next day there was no show. When many films came, our film was removed from the hall. But, by doing so, the amount that could be raised decreased. Now this business has decided to make better films.'