'Four-play' at the box office

With Tanhaji, Chhapaak, Darbar releasing next weekend and Good Newwz continuing its strong run, trade gurus analyse how four biggies will battle for screen space

January jinx is clearly a thing of the past with three big-ticket movies — Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, Chhapaak and Rajinikanth's Darbar — eyeing a release next week. While Bollywood has often witnessed two movies at loggerheads at the box office, a three-way clash implies that each film will have to settle for lesser number of screens and, by extension, a smaller portion of the box-office pie.

A trade source reveals that Ajay Devgn's period drama leads the screen count. "The film, which will release in Hindi and Marathi, has bagged around 3,500 screens while the Deepika Padukone starrer is expected to hit 1,000 theatres. Though Darbar may see heavy footfalls in the South, it won't bag more than 800 to 1,000 screens in North India," explains the source, adding that encouraged by the success of Good Newwz in its second week, distributor Zee Studios will eye at least 700 screens in the coming week. "But the screen count is not final as they close a day before the film releases."

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, "Tanhaji is Ajay's production and [has the advantage of being] a 3D film. Meanwhile, Chhapaak marks the first collaboration between Deepika and Meghna Gulzar. So, it will be a tough call for distributors and they will pressure national multiplex programming departments to give more screens or allot evening shows to their respective films."

A still from Good Newwz

Trade analyst Amod Mehra believes that Darbar, with its limited all-India release, won't pose a threat to the two Hindi projects. Making a case for Tanhaji, he adds, "Chhapaak is a multiplex film and will have a limited release. With the film, Deepika will have to prove that she can be a box-office draw. It's not a [direct] competitor to Tanhaji, which will have a clear run as far as B and C centres are concerned. Rajinikanth's film may be slightly affected in these centres since Tanhaji is a massy movie as well [and shares the target audience]."

Manoj Desai, executive director of G7 Multiplex and Maratha Mandir, explains that theatres too will stand to lose in the clash. "Single screens will suffer more [than multiplexes] because they cannot accommodate all the films. I may give priority to Tanhaji."

Bhushan Kumar, co-producer of Tanhaji, asserts that the story "deserves a big release". "We have currently locked over 3,500 screens, and are working with our distributor to [bag some] more."

Estimated number of screens acquired

Tanhaji - 3500

Good Newwz - 700

Chhapaak - 1000

Darbar - 800

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