H'wood having a field day with no B'wood releases in UAE

With no end in sight to the stand-off between Bollywood film producers and multiplex owners in India over shares in box office takings, Hollywood blockbusters in UAE are having a field day with no new Hindi releases.

With no end in sight to the stand-off between Bollywood film producers and multiplex owners in India over shares in box office takings, Hollywood blockbusters in UAE are having a field day with no new Hindi releases.

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Given the country's large expatriate Asian presence, Bollywood cine-goers are witnessing a dry run on weekends with multiplexes not screening any new releases since strike began on April 4 owing to the dispute.

According to Abu Dhabi's 'The National newspaper', with no releases round the corner, the once-flourishing multiplexes in India as well as big international markets such as the UAE are feeling the effect.

Hollywood is the winner in all this, with the row swelling the audiences for several new blockbuster releases, including Star Trek, Nicolas Cage starrer action-thriller Knowing and Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

According to the Daily, Indian film market has a major presence in the UAE. The movies are loved by Arabs and other communities too and most open to packed houses.

Several have had grand premieres in Dubai even before their releases in India, among the most recent being Jodha Akbar and Delhi-6, it said.