'Pathaan' set to take box office by storm
Tiding over a series of boycott calls, Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Pathaan’ is all set to take the box office by storm. The movie is ready to witness the biggest opening for any Hindi film with 4.19 lakh tickets sold till Tuesday and 80 per cent occupancy on the first day, even for early morning shows beginning at 6 am or 7 am, say industry insiders.
Opening day collection may touch Rs 50 crore
The film, which releases across 5,000 screens on Wednesday, could well ring in 2023 on a positive note for an industry grappling with crippling losses following the Covid pandemic and a string of box office duds. The ticket surge is being seen in multiplexes, single screen theatres and also in the south.
“The film is going to take a historic start at the box office with opening day collections of Rs 45 crore to Rs 50 crore. The box office revival will begin with ‘Pathaan’, especially looking at its advance booking. This is very rare. And tomorrow is a working day,” said trade analyst Taran Adarsh.
“This film is going to break the advance booking record of KGF 2 and will do a business of Rs 45 crore to Rs 50 crore on the opening day,” agreed Rajendra Singh Jyala, chief programming officer at multiplex chain INOX. He said they have 7 am shows at Inox and almost 80 per cent of it is full. The early morning shows are happening in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Kolkata and a few others, he added.
Marks return of SRK after 4 years
The Yash Raj Film’s (YRF) production, which marks Shah Rukh’s return to the big screen after a hiatus of 4 years, will get a five-day extended opening weekend as it releases the day before Republic Day.
The advances of ‘Pathaan’ have exceeded all expectation, added Kamal Gianchandani, president of the Multiplex Association of India. It’s a foregone conclusion that tomorrow’s opening would be the biggest for any Hindi film, he said.
Also read: Pathaan row: After asking ‘who is Shah Rukh Khan’, Assam CM gets SRK’s call at 2 am
First SRK movie to open in over 100 countries
According to a release by YRF, Pathaan is the first Shah Rukh film to open in over 100 plus countries, the highest for any YRF film so far. In fact, it is the widest release for an Indian film globally, said Nelson DSouza, vice president, international distribution, YRF.
According to leading ticketing platform BookMyShow (BMS), over 10 lakh tickets have been sold for the coming days till now.
Impressive opening in South too
It is also one of the first films from Bollywood that is leading the charts in advance booking in the south. “South India has been particularly impressive showcasing an upward trajectory with Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru contributing almost 30 percent of the overall advance sales so far,” said Ashish Saksena, COO, BookMyShow.
Single screen theatres rejoice
The film is enjoying bumper advance booking in single screen theatres as well. Mumbai’s popular single-screen theatres Gaiety, Galaxy and Maratha Mandir have ticket bookings of 70 to 80 per cent, said Manoj Desai, executive director of the theatres.
The ‘Besharam Rang’ controversy
The film, directed by Siddharth Anand and also featuring Deepika Padukone and John Abraham in the lead, was at the centre of a huge debate over its song ‘Besharam Rang’. Deepika has several costume changes, including a saffron bikini, in the song. Several right-wing groups burned effigies and posters of the movie, alleging that the film hurt Hindu religious sentiments.
(With Agency inputs)
