When two big films clash at box office, it is natural to see they eating away the revenues of each other. As Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Agnathavasi’ and Balayya’s ‘Jai Simha’ are pegged to clash for Sankranthi 2018, how the latter can impact the business of the former.
As PK25 (Jan 10) is releasing two days ahead of Jai Simha (Jan 12), the Pawan-starrer can mint maximum money in the first two days. Record number of theatres will be allocated for the film, albeit only for two days, a repetition of how Megastar’s “Khaidi No.150” released ahead of GPSK this year. The problem for Agnathavasi however starts from Day 3.
The biggest loss of clashing with a Balayya-starrer is ‘procuring theatres’. In areas such as Ceded and Guntur, theatres are booked in well advance whenever a Balayya-starrer’s release is announced. In the places where there are only single theatres, other films won’t get a release as Balayya’s fans book that particular theatre in advance.
Considering that PK25 is expected to do Rs 100+ Cr theatrical business, and taking into account the fact that lion’s share of a film’s revenue comes in the first week only, it would be a loss for the Pawan-starrer if it doesn’t get a release in the areas having single theatres. What’s more, some exhibitors back off when they are asked to screen a film for only two days, keeping the piracy menace in mind, which can result in a huge loss of revenue to Agnathavasi that comes from hires from C centres.