EXCLUSIVE: Late night showdown - Jolly LLB 3 team pays VPF under protest; Akshay Kumar joins talks September 19, 2025 at 03:35PM

Bollywood Hungama was among the first ones to report that the bookings of Jolly LLB 3’s shows were kept on hold by PVR Inox due to VPF (Virtual Print Fee) issues. The bookings were stopped from the evening of Wednesday, September 17 and resumed on the morning of September 18. The issue wasn’t resolved, but it was agreed upon to commence bookings. However, the team of the film got a jolt when the bookings of the film were suspended yet again on Thursday evening by the multiplex chain.

A source told Bollywood Hungama, “The bookings were yet again kept on hold and this happened less than 12 hours before the first show of the film. The team of the film immediately got into a negotiation mode. Even Akshay Kumar, one of the lead actors of Jolly LLB 3, was involved.”

The source continued, “Viacom18 had signed an agreement with PVR Inox that they’ll pay VPF only until 2024. Hence, they felt justified in asking for a waiver since Jolly LLB 3 is a 2025 release. But PVR Inox argued that the agreement mentions that the studio will stop paying VPF, subject to other production houses doing the same. Since other producers continue to diligently pay VPF this year, they insisted that Viacom18 should also follow suit.”

The source added, “With bookings halted, there would have been a major impact on the first day of collections. As a result, the team of Jolly LLB 3 agreed to the VPF payment. However, they made it clear that they are paying under protest and that they would continue with their discussion on this issue.”

A multiplex official told us, “The issue was sorted around midnight. We all got the go-ahead to resume bookings. The film has now been released smoothly across the country.”

What is VPF?

Virtual Print Fee (VPF) is a charge that big multiplex chains in India take from producers or distributors to help cover the cost of upgrading their technology, which is meant to give audiences a better movie experience. On average, this fee is around Rs. 20,000 per screen. For smaller cinema chains and non-2K theatres, this fee is collected by companies like UFO, Scrabble, Qube etc., which provide digital cinema services.

For a long time, producers have argued that the VPF shouldn’t be charged indefinitely and it was supposed to have been imposed only for a certain time. The exhibitors, on the other hand, feel that VPF is necessary as it helps bear the cost of playing the film using the latest technology and has many advantages.

In 2019, the matter became widely known and discussed after producer Ronnie Screwvala filed a case with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against PVR, Inox, Cinepolis and Carnival Cinemas over VPF. However, the CCI ruled in favour of the multiplexes.

Earlier this year, VPF had become a talking point after Bhool Chuk Maaf was given special exemptions – the national chains allowed the romcom to arrive on OTT two weeks after theatrical release, and secondly, they agreed to charge VPF only if the film crossed a certain figure at the box office.

Also Read: Trade experts predict that Jolly LLB 3 can open in double digits and has a chance of Rs. 100 cr + lifetime: “Combo of Akshay Kumar and Arshad Warsi is ZABARDAST”

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