Exclusive - 'Dunki' to have an edge over 'Salaar' due to Thursday release; trade experts say anything over 35 cr on opening day would be good for the Shah Rukh Khan starrer

The Christmas weekend is just round the corner we're just a day away from the release of 'Dunki' and two days from the release of 'Salaar Part 1: Ceasefire'. Just prior to these two biggies battling it out at the box office, ETimes gets into a detailed analysis of the advance bookings, which movie can have an edge and more. Read on...
Geographical advance bookings
Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVRINOX Pictures tells us, "Because of Prabhas' presence and Prashanth Neel as a director, 'Salaar' has taken a bumper advance in the South states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. However, at the same time, it has also done exceedingly well in North India, West India and Central India. On the other hand, 'Dunki' has done well in terms of advance bookings all over. I would not like to put a number, but I think we are looking at one of the best 10 days in this year in terms of business, starting from December 21 to December 31."

Manoj Desai, executive director, Gaiety Galaxy and Maratha Mandir cinema says, "Thursdays shows for 'Dunki' are almost full but the advance bookings for 'Salaar' for Friday have not begun yet. We are still left hanging on with the distributors as the scheduling is still happening."

Producer and film trade analyst, Girish Johar chips in, "Dunki obviously has a strong advance in the Northern and the Hindi speaking belt. As a fellow fraternity member, I feel it is going to be like 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' kind of a situation, where both the films are doing well and are being appreciated by the audiences."

He carried on, adding, "the good part is that both the films have different genres and target audience. Also, both the films have a geographical difference in terms of the regions where they'll be liked more. Dunki will hold fort in the Hindi belt of South-East Central India, whereas Salaar is stronger in the South. Moreover, 'Dunki' has a more female-led, family audience. It's emotional, a little urban, whereas Salaar is more massier, with more male-specific target audiences. Hence, due to this difference, both the movies are expected to do well."

The Division of Screens
'Dunki' is expected to have more screens in North India and 'Salaar' will have more screens in South India. However, 'Dunki' has an edge over 'Salaar' because it is releasing a day before. On Thursday, all the screens are dominated by 'Dunki' and from Friday onwards, the screens will be divided. Distributor Rajesh Thadani says, "In terms of advances, 'Dunki' is having more screens in the north, while Salaar will get more screens in the south. But, right now, especially in the top three multiplex chains, 'Dunki' has more screens because it is releasing on Thursday. Due to that, I think it will definitely get an edge, in certain circuits. Especially in North India, it will get a better benefit and in South India, 'Salaar' will get a similar edge."

The distributor added that the scheduling is still happening so, one cannot really pick the number of shows which will be given to both of these movies. For single screens though, Desai reveals, "There are four shows of 'Dunki' in Gaiety tomorrow and three in Maratha Mandir. We have four shows of 'Salaar' in Galaxy.

Expected opening number
Because 'Dunki' will have an edge due to being a solo release on Thursday, it is expected to generate big numbers. Thadani says, "Because it has all the shows on Thursday, it's expected to have an opening of Rs 50 crore."

However Girish Johar says that the film will slowly pick up pace. "Dunki is releasing on Thursday, which is not a holiday. The makers are purposely releasing the film on Thursday, so that word of mouth can spread and the effect can be seen over the long Christmas weekend. The makers are optimistic it will help. I am sure it's another winner from Rajkumar Hirani."

"On the other hand, in some pockets, 'Salaar' is doing way ahead. For 'Dunki', a Rs 35 crore opening for a non-holiday movie and a film like this, which is not a hardcore massy, commercial film, should be good. 'Salaar' in the Hindi belt on Friday should open around the 10 crore mark and that again, is a very good number," wraps up Johar.


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