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The advance bookings of Brahmastra are looking very good, with premium IMAX and 3D screens already going full for the weekend.
In fact, the response has been good from up north Delhi right down to Bengaluru.
Tickets worth Rs 7 crore (Rs 70 million) have been sold so far for the weekend.
This means that Brahmastra will take the best start for a Bollywood release of 2022, going past hits like Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and RRR (Hindi).
The real challenge would be to go past Sooryavanshi's opening day collections of Rs 26.29 crore (Rs 262.9 million) and that may just be possible.
As things stand today, an opening in the range of Rs 25 crore-Rs 30 crore (Rs 250 million to Rs 300 million) seems to be on the cards for the Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt starrer, which is an excellent start.
Brahmastra sees a global release across 8,000 screens (5,000 in India, 3,000 overseas) and though it was always meant to be an event film, it has taken gigantic proportions now.
In the recent times, no other movie has been as hyped, and that too in a sustained manner for as many as three-four years.
A film that was conceptualised a decade ago and then had active work begin on it for five years was announced for release at least three times.
But Director Ayan Mukerji wanted to make it perfect and did not mind waiting for an extended period of time.
Then came the pandemic and it was a blessing in disguise for Karan Johar and his team at Dharma Productions as this meant more time at disposal to perfect the film.
Now when this film is finally releasing, it is important not just for its producers and lead actors, it is extremely crucial for the entire Indian film industry.
After all, it isn't just Bollywood which is bleeding. Even movie industries down south don't have much to cheer about.
If in Hindi, only films like The Kashmir Files (Rs 253 crore/Rs 2.53 billion), Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (Rs 185 crore/Rs 1.82 billion) and Gangubai Kathiawadi (Rs 129 crore/Rs 1.29 billion) have brought in good to excellent numbers, in the south, Kamal Haasan's Tamil film Vikram has brought in cheers recently (over Rs 200 crore/Rs 2 billion).
The only pan-India money-spinners have been KGF - Chapter 2 and RRR, and this is what Brahmastra has to compete with.
After all, it's these three films where the money has been spent the most. Though there is no official word on this yet, the cost of RRR and Brahmastra is reportedly in the range of Rs 300 crore-Rs 500 crore (Rs 3 billion to Rs 5 billion). On the other hand, the investment on KGF - Chapter 2 was under Rs 200 crore, which is remarkable.
No wonder, the returns on KGF - Chapter 2 is the best till date, with just the Hindi version fetching around Rs 435 crore (Rs 4.35 billion) and the overall collections going over Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion).
RRR saw massive collections of Rs 275 crore (Rs 2.75 billion) just in Hindi, with the overall numbers going past the Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) mark.
And Bollywood films have managed that before.
The collections of films like Dangal, Sanju, PK, Tiger Zinda Hai, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, War, Padmaavat and Sultan have exceeded Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) and globally, they have either crossed the Rs 500 crore mark or come quite close to it.
What Brahmastra needs to fight is the negativity surrounding the industry.
In my view, it's just the noise more than anything substantial since films not working is due to the fact that they cannot entice audiences into stepping out of their homes.
Such has been the lure of watching on films on OTT that an average cine-goer needs something substantial to spend moolah on tickets.
Hopefully, the tide will change on September 9.
