Cricket World Cup v/s Bollywood this monsoon

Cricket and cinema are akin to religion in our country. The Cricket World Cup, which comes after every four years, has every fan of the game hooked. So, when our Men In Blue are playing in this major tournament, audiences defer their movie-watching plans. 

WHEN CRICKET AND CINEMA LOCK HORNS

This time, viewers will have to choose between Bharat, Salman Khan’s Eid offering that opens in cinemas on June 5, and India’s first World Cup match against South Africa, which will also be held on the same day. Moreover, on June 9, which will mark Bharat’s first Sunday, India will play Australia in its second league match.

That’s not all. Quite a few Hindi releases are lined up around the time our desi boys play an important match leading to the prestigious trophy. Taapsee Pannu’s Game Over will hit the marquee on June 14, even as it faces tough competition from the India-Pakistan clash on Sunday, June 16. A day after Shahid Kapoor’s Kabir Singh keeps its date with cinemas, the Men In Blue will lock horns with Afghanistan. India-England’s  face-off is scheduled on June 30, the first Sunday for Sushant Singh Rajput and Jacqueline Fernandez’s Drive as well as Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Malaal, which is the launch pad for actors Meezaan and Sharmin Segal. Since the World Cup is taking place in UK this time around, the matches will be telecast at 3 pm, IST. So, the evening and night shows of movies might be affected.

BHARAT WILL TAKE A MASSIVE START

Veteran trade analyst Taran Adarsh concedes that the matches will affect the footfalls slightly. “Even during the Indian Premier League, the opening and closing ceremonies did make some difference. In this case, it’s the World Cup. So, the days when India is playing will definitely affect the box-office numbers. Also, the finals will take a toll,” he points out. He adds, “But, as we have seen in the past, movies that have strong content can withstand any opposition. I foresee that Bharat will take a massive start. But eventually, it will boil down to the content.”

However, Alok Tandon, CEO, INOX Cinemas, doesn’t feel the matches will have any effect on the footfalls of the Salman-starrer. He avers, “We, Indians, are equally passionate about cricket and cinema. We are sure that people will make time for both. Therefore, we do not see any impact of these matches on the footfalls for Bharat.”

Taran, however, feels that because of the India-South Africa clash and the other matches, collections of a few movies are likely to take a beating. There’s no denying that the Indo-Pak face-off will have audiences hooked to their television sets. As Taran concedes, “That is one match everyone is interested in watching. So, definitely, the collections will be affected during the game.”

(Clockwise from left) Sushant Singh Rajput; Jacqueline Fernandez; Meezaan and Sharmin Segal will be seen in Malaal; A publicity still of 99 Songs

CONTENT IS KING 

Of course, in the past, there have been instances of movies doing well despite the World Cup and we’ve heard ad nauseum about Biwi No 1 becoming a huge hit despite releasing while the tournament was on. During the 2015 WC, films like Varun Dhawan’s Badlapur and Ayushmann Khurrana-Bhumi Pednekar’s Dum Laga Ke Haisha hit the bull’s eye.

While one might think that when India’s games against teams like Afghanistan and Bangladesh might not pose such a serious threat to the movies, Taran feels that even when it’s not a strong competition, it might make a difference to the BO numbers. He sums up, “At the end of the day, content matters. 

If audiences feel that the story is not so good, they will reject it.” 

BOLLYWOOD RELEASES LINED UP

June 5: Bharat 

June 14: Game Over 

June 21: Kabir Singh, 99 songs 

June 28: Drive, Malaal 

July 12: Jabariya Jodi

INDIA’S WC MATCHES

June 5:  vs South Africa 

June 9: vs Australia 

June 13: vs New Zealand 

June 16: vs Pakistan 

June 22: vs Afghanistan 

June 27: vs West Indies 

June 30: vs England

July 2: vs Bangladesh 

July 6: vs Sri Lanka