Here is why ‘Avengers: Endgame’ is not screening in Silchar

Marvel fans in Silchar are upset, angry and some are even shedding tears as it has become clear that ‘Avengers: Endgame’ will not be screening in Silchar. Passionate fans of Marvel characters all across the globe are participating in the ‘Endgame’ carnival by visiting multiplexes and later bragging about it on Facebook or other social media platforms. Silchar and Barak Valley stay deprived and won’t be able to see the last Marvel film rolling out on the large screen.  

But why is it that theaters in Silchar refuse to screen a movie like “Avengers: Endgame”? We have reached out to the show runners in Silchar and they had a few valid points too. The expectations were fuelled when Eylex theater screened Hollywood movie ‘Hell Boy’ a few days back. Many thought this was the beginning of a new dawn where English movies find space in theaters in Silchar. It did not happen, “We spent a huge amount of money to get Hell Boy screening in Silchar. We expected to get a huge response which would convert to good revenue. But not even one percent of our expectation got fulfilled, neither in terms of response nor revenue,” informs, Santu Bardhan, the manager of Eylex Cinema Silchar.

Apart from the market dynamics and economic channels there were technical hurdles too, “We couldn’t screen Avengers movie because the movie is released in a 2k format and the setup we’ve in the halls of Barak-valley, doesn’t support a 2k format movie. We will definitely try to upgrade to 2k soon. We thought of getting one screen upgraded to 2k after Hell Boy, but the response we got from that movie, demeaned our expectation.” added the manager.

Manish Kumar Baid, the owner of the Gold Digital Cinema Silchar too echoed the challenges mentioned by Bardhan, “Being a movie addict myself, I’ve been waiting for Endgame and we the management of Gold was expecting to get the movie at our hall too. But, just a week before the release, the studio producing the movie asked UFO Moviez not to allow cinema halls which do not have 2K projections to premier the film. There are some films which are released for normal theaters too as we had Hell Boy but there are some studios which allow the film in only those theaters which support 2K projection like the Endgame,” says Baid.

Connectivity is a major challenge for the show runners in Silchar and one of the reasons why the cinema hall owners are skeptical about installing 2K projectors, “We  often think about upgrading to 2K projections but we fear that might disrupt content delivery as we have connectivity issue. For three, four or five blockbuster hollywood movies if we upgrade our projections we will have to project Hindi movies on 2K too and thus bring in heavier files. Now tickets are always pre-booked and if due to connectivity issue the content does not get delivered it will harm our reputation,” adds Baid.

Marvel fans in Barak Valley are booking berths to Guwahati or Kolkata to watch the movie. For them the virtual world that they have been growing up in is coming to an end. This is the ‘Endgame’. After the devastating events of Avengers Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe. Marvel Cinematic Universe started with Iron Man in 2008 and has a total of 21 movies so far. Avengers: Infinity War with an IMDb rating 9.2/10, was the last movie in the Avengers series. The ‘Iron Man’ fans have been spotted crying, choking, and in a state of shock outside the theaters which screened the movie – ‘not stating why – no spoilers.’