With Hrithik Roshan, Kangana Ranaut, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Emraan Hashmi locking horns at the box office, this clash will be one to watch out for
The Republic Day weekend in 2019 will see four films hitting the marquee. The face-off between Kangana Ranaut’s Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi and Hrithik Roshan’s Super 30 has got more intense with Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Thackeray and Emraan Hashmi’s Cheat India joining the fray. None of the makers are ready to back off and let go of the lucrative weekend. Thackeray, the biopic on Balasaheb Thackeray, will get a three-day jump over the other contenders as it releases on January 23 (the Shiv Sena supremo’s birthday).
THE SUCCESS STORIES
If you take a look at the R-Day releases over the last two years, it’s evident why makers have developed a liking for this weekend. In 2017, Raees and Kaabil clashed at the BO on this date. However, both films did well. This year, Padmaavat hit the screens on January 26. While Akshay Kumar’s Pad Man and Neeraj Pandey directorial Aiyaary were earlier slated to open in cinemas on this date, they decided to avoid a clash and moved to the forthcoming weekends. Meanwhile, Padmaavat went on to become one of the highest grossers of 2018.
MARK THE DATE
While Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi, which is backed by Zee Studios, focusses on Rani Laxmibai’s story, Super 30 is inspired by mathematician Anand Kumar’s initiative for lesser-privileged children. With Thackeray’s birthday on January 23, producer Sanjay Raut, in a recent interview, stated that he is ready to face the competition. Cheat India is about the education scams that have taken place in the country. When asked about choosing this already-crowded weekend, its producer Tanuj Garg says, “For us, it’s a great national holiday weekend. Our film’s theme and title lent itself to this particular weekend. So, it’s only organic for us to come out with our movie on this date. From the overall monetary perspective, too, it makes more business sense for us to release it on the Republic Day weekend.”
WAIT FOR THE PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS
While all the films are either inspired by prominent personalities or real issues, which of the four films will cinegoers prefer to see first? Trade analyst Taran Adarsh feels it’s too early to predict. He reasons, “We’ll have to wait till November-December for the movies’ promotional campaigns to start to know what they’re offering. Once some more of the content is showcased, only then a clearer picture will emerge.”
THERE’S SPACE FOR EVERYONE?
While it’s not difficult for filmmakers to book the required number of theatres and screens, juggling four releases isn’t going to be a cakewalk either. Tanuj Garg feels there’s enough place for all the films. “The exhibitors surely know how to allocate screens and show timings for the multiple releases,” he says. Adarsh agrees with him but adds, “More theatres will open up in the future, too. But it’s going to be the survival of the fittest.” He feels the industry needs to brace itself for more such clashes in the future. He points out, “Producers have no choice. We’ve had clashes earlier, too. In recent times, we saw Bajrangi Bhaijaan coming a week after Baahubali: The Beginning, and both became blockbusters. So, if the content is good, it will only expand the market.”
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