Kaala vs Jurassic World: Fallen kingdom | 7 reasons why it’s a battle of the behemoths this Friday

It is Rajinikanth versus the world of dinosaurs this Friday as Tamil superstar’s Kaala and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom from the Jurassic Park series are set to clash in theatres in India. And the clash has become talk of the town as even trade pundits are finding it difficult to speculate which venture will take on its competitor especially when Hollywood is turning out to be a tough competition for Indian films.

What makes the battle between the two films so intense?

Dubbed versions

The first factor that is hinting that it will be an epic-box office battle is that both the films will be releasing in multiple languages. While Kaala, which is a Tamil film, will release in Hindi and Telugu, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom will release in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu apart from English.

There is no denying that dubbed versions for films have become major contributing factors in terms of revenue and the formula is not restricted to Hollywood alone. If films like Avengers: Infinity War have earned a staggering Rs 62 crore from its Hindi version, then even Indian films like MS Dhoni: The Untold Story have received a strong share from their dubbed versions, which includes the Tamil version that minted about Rs 6 crore.

Also, successful dubbed versions are a strong ground for both the films and the proof of this is the performance of their predecessors. While Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993) created a platform for the dubbing of English movies in Indian regional languages, dubbed versions of Rajinikanth’s previous films have worked magic at the box office like 2010 release Endhiran which had grossed Rs 60 crore in Tamil Nadu, Rs 30 crore in Andhra Pradesh, Rs 8 crore in Karnataka and Rs 4 crore in Kerala. The Hindi version (Robot) had managed to collect Rs 15 crore.

Screen density

Screen count is another factor in play in deciding which film will bring more audiences to theatres. But in this aspect, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom could take on Kaala as it will be played on around 2,300 screens and the former will play on 2,000 screens.

Performance of previous films

Both the new ventures will see an impact from their forerunners. On one hand, the 2015 release Jurassic World was a box-office sensation in India with collections of around Rs 150 crore from India alone, Rajinikanth’s previous releases could be a point of concern as Lingaa and Kabali couldn’t set the cash registers ringing.

Kaala has upper hand in Tamil Nadu

But there are chances that the second film in the Jurassic World series may lose business in south India as in Tamil Nadu the film will release only on 150-200 screens in comparison to Kaala which will release on 500 to 550 screens.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom could score in other states

However, the situation can turnaround for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and north India states.

Kaala could see an impact from Karnataka ban

But Kaala has bigger battles to fight and this is due to Rajinikanth’s comment on the Cauvery issue which resulted in the banning of the film in Karnataka. Although the Supreme Court refused to stall the release of the film, chances are high that the audience turnout for the film in the state will be low as pro-Kannadas are against the release of the film.

GST and theatre strike leads to low audience turnout

Another reason for Kaala to not perform well could be the effect of the goods and services tax (GST) rollout which has affected the theatre business. Also, the high-ticket prices and other miscellaneous cinema expense have led to lower footfalls. In addition, the prolonged strike in Tamil Nadu of the theatre owners too has led to low audience turnout.