On its worldwide release day, Dulquer Salmaan’s film “I’m Game” faced significant distribution challenges in Hyderabad. The Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs) for the Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada versions were not delivered to theaters in time for the first show, leading to multiple cancellations, particularly affecting the Telugu screenings.
In a conversation with SCREEN, a well-known figure in the Telugu film industry commented, “The DCPs for the dubbed versions simply did not reach the theatres on time. We’ve been waiting for it since last night. While the makers have informed us there will be a delay, we didn’t expect it to reach a point where we had to cancel morning shows across multiple centres.”
The DCP is the digital format necessary for projecting films in cinemas, and without it, theaters are unable to screen the movie. This delay resulted in audiences who had purchased tickets for the Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, and Kannada versions arriving at theaters only to discover that their shows were either canceled or postponed indefinitely, while the Malayalam version of “I’m Game” was screened as scheduled in Kerala and other regions where Malayalam is spoken.
Theater owners and distributors also noted that low ticket sales contributed to some show cancellations. Nithiesh K, a theater owner in the region, stated, “Some shows were canceled not just because the DCP did not arrive but because there were not enough tickets sold to justify running them while we wait for the DCP.”
Originally set to premiere on August 20, “I’m Game” was rescheduled to avoid competing with other films during the Onam festival. Dulquer Salmaan explained the reasoning for the delay in a social media post, expressing that the postponement was intended “to give I’m Game the scale, reach, and theatrical platform it truly deserves, allowing audiences across different markets to experience it on the big screen.”
Directed by Nahas Hidhayath, known for the sleeper hit “RDX,” “I’m Game” features Dulquer as Dan John, a gambler whose mathematical betting system leads to a high-stakes predicament. The film also stars Kayadu Lohar, Antony Varghese, Mysskin, Vinay Forrt, Sham Prasad, and Jayasudha. Produced by Dulquer under his Wayfarer Films label, this project marks his most significant production investment to date. The film’s music is composed by Jakes Bejoy, and the cinematography is handled by Nimish Ravi and Jimshi Khalid.
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