Trade Talk: Spiderman No Way Home and Pushpa The Rise Doing Phenomenally Well!

Trade Talk:  With Spiderman No Way Home and Pushpa The Rise Doing Phenomenally Well, Does Kabir Khan’s ’83 Have Reason To Worry? Trade Experts Speak

Ajay Rai(producer): “The  first thing that we need  to be most grateful about is that audiences are back into the movie theatres. The  long queues  for Spiderman and Pushpa are very gratifying. Most of the  boxoffice collections these days  are reliant on  the first weekend, so  I am sure ’83 won’t have a problem  getting screens . After such a prolonged period of crippling losses  the year is drawing to  a  close so well for cinemas. God is great. Watching films in theatres can  never grow  redundant.”

Akshay Rathi(Maharashtra, exhibitor):  “Should  ’83 be worried? I don’t think so. Irrespective of what’s  come before or  after, people will watch what  they want to watch, whether it is Spiderman, Pushpa, Matrix, ‘83  or Jersey. I think at a time when the movie business is  on the revival trail it is important to provide  a wide variety  of content for all demographics to make  sure that people across all age groups and social strata come to the theatres. Personally speaking if I want  to watch a  film , I will no matter what  else is playing.”

Atul Mohan(trade  analyst):  “The situation can be worrisome for ‘83. The usual trend is that if any film does well then it gets good advantage in terms of shows and showcasing from exhibitors in its second week. You don’t dump anything that’s performing very well. Spiderman and Pushpa have dominated the boxoffice this weekend and have shattered all the opening records. The showcasing for 83 of course won’t be in the range of Sooryavanshi or Spiderman as the former was a solo release and now we have to accommodate 83 between 2 best performing films and a mid-week release Matrix. Also, Pushpa in  Hindi has picked up tremendously at Single Screens of North India as Allu Arjun enjoys  a tremendous fan-following there, the single screens may not wish  to drop Pushpa to accommodate any other film. A big task for exhibitors in coming days but as per my calculations 83 should manage to  get 50% of showcasing what Sooryvanshi   got and it has to be seen how many single screens join the numbers.”

Girish  Johar(producer, trade analyst):  “Yes, distribution team of 83 will find it hard and they will have to find a  solution. And trust me they will. 83 is not a small film and it has a HUMONGOUS potential at the BO. I  feel since Pushpa is more a  South-targeted film, its craze will wane  in the 2nd weekend  for the Hindi markets. Whereas MATRIX is a sleek upmarket urban action film, it  will be a threat with limited effect in premium upmarket regions and cinemas. The major opposition is Spiderman, it’s a massy film running all across the country and loved by all. The numbers have proved it and  reviews are awesome too. Still since Spiderman was a wide release, in its second week some slowdown will happen. 83 has all the chances and potential to stand tall and  by the looks of it,it is seemingly  a winner.”