This Diwali, the noise of the crackers might pale into insignificance when compared with the noise the two Diwali releases are expected to make at the box-office. The trailers of both the festival releases are out. While Rohit Shetty, Ajay Devgan and Jio Studios launched the trailer of Singham Again on 7th October, Bhushan Kumar and Anees Bazmee released the trailer of their horror comedy, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, today (9th October). It must be said that both the trailers are so mass-appealing that both the films look like potential blockbusters!
One feels sorry for the exhibitors because they will have a tough time allotting shows to the two films. Since the trailers are equally entertaining and since both are films of very popular franchises (Singham and Bhool Bhulaiyaa), distributors of both the films will want the maximum number of shows and the best shows of the day. No doubt, Diwali is such a big Hindu festival that the festive week can accommodate two big-budgeted and big star-cast films, but the problem here is that both the films will generate so much heat, as the release date approaches, that multiplexes and single-screen cinemas will be at a loss to understand how the showcasing should be done. Whatever the showcasing, distributors of both the films are bound to feel short-changed because both the films will get cinemas and shows lesser than what they would desire.
Of course, blockbusters are what the trade waits for, but the problem arises when two potential blockbusters are to hit the screens on the same day — in this case, 1st November. Now that the trailers have given the audience and the trade a fair idea about what to expect in the two films, it doesn’t need to be overemphasised that the simultaneous release will adversely affect the business of both the films. How much of the business of each of the two films will be lost, only time will tell. But it is a foregone conclusion that both the producers and their distributors will have to sacrifice a part of their respective businesses at the altar of the crash.
Be that as it may, let the trade at least revel in the fact that this Diwali is going to be bountiful. For, the festival of lights is all set to witness the clash of the titans!