Will Chief Minister Vijay bring back Tamil Nadu’s 4 AM FDFS culture? Exhibitors make an EMOTIONAL appeal: “Early morning shows are the lifeline of cinemas”
There was a time when cinemas would screen just four shows a day, usually beginning around 11:30 am or 12 noon. But with the advent of multiplexes, the system changed. Exhibitors began experimenting with 9:00 am and 10:00 am shows, and the strategy worked. For high-profile releases, cinemas even started organizing shows earlier than that, at 8:00 am, 7:00 am and, in some cases, even at 5:00 am or 6:00 am. However, Tamil Nadu stands out as the only state where early-morning shows are tightly regulated. Here, the first regular show generally begins around 10:30 am or 11:00 am. For big-ticket releases, producers and distributors seek special permission from the state government, after which theatres are usually allowed to start shows from 9:00 am. However, shows at 4:00 am or even earlier have not been permitted in Tamil Nadu in recent times. The last major instance took place during the Pongal 2023 clash between Ajith Kumar’s Thunivu and Vijay’s Varisu . While Thunivu had shows begin...