Pathaan’s record box office performance is sure to change a lot of things. He has set the bar very high, and the first to feel the heat was Shehzada. Starring Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon in the lead roles, the comedy-drama is a Hindi adaptation of the Allu Arjun Telugu hit Ala Vaikunthapuramulloo.
The release of Shehzada has been postponed for a week. The producers released a statement: “Shehzada has a new release date! Out of respect for Pathaan, this star of Kartik Aaryan Kriti Sanon directed by Rohit Dhawan… will now be released on February 17, 2023!
Is delaying a movie release right after an event movie like Pathaan a wise decision? In 2022 alone, we have three great examples of this – Bachchan Pandey by Akshay Kumar was released on March 18, right after The Kashmir Files (March 11). Kumar himself admits that the wave of TKF has hit them, “Vivek ji ne Kashmir Files bana kar humara desh ke ek bohot bade dardanak sach ko samne rakha hain.”
Ye movie ek aisi bhet ban kar ayi, ye aur baat hain ki meri picture ko bhi duba diya hain. Then Aaryan’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 on May 20. Anek by Ayushmann Khurrana was later released on the 27th. Result? While the content itself also came from the scanner, the BB2 craze took a toll on it. Ajay Devgn’s mystery drama Drishyam 2 was such a hit that Varun Dhawan’s film Bhediya a week later, on November 25, saw a dent in its collection.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “There are two ways to look at this Before that, Shehzada had a lonely release date. There’s also a Valentine’s Day bonus on the 14th. But now they’ve missed that and will face Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on the 17th. A week later, Akshay Kumar’s Selfiee- Emraan Hashmi will be released.
It is also suggested that for a film like Pathaan, the whole family goes to see it. Some have even watched it two or three times. This way, they have spent a large sum of money and may be afraid to go out to the movies so early. Adarsh replied: “I don’t think so. If there’s a good movie, it gets shot, no matter what everyone’s budget is. However, there’s little respite right now, with two movies showing on the same day and another big one a week later. The public needs this space.
Rajender Singh Jyala, Director of Programming, INOX Leisure, says successive releases are doing well: “I’m sure the Shehzada makers made the decision after weighing all the options. . It will be Pathaan’s third week on the 10th, we have enough capacity to run both. The screen for the latter will be scaled down, it can’t last forever. Together with RRR and KGF 2, they came out a few weeks apart and both became super hits, like Gangubai Kathiawadi and The Kashmir Files
