Premium| Listen to this article |
NEW DELHI: Sports drama ’83 has finally managed a little over ₹100 crore at the box office, thanks to the absence of new releases. The Kabir Khan directed film, however, is doing half the business of Allu Arjun’s dubbed action flick Pushpa that is playing at fewer locations in the Hindi belt, according to trade website Box Office India. Thanks to its massive ₹200 crore budget, producers of ’83 stand to lose around ₹80 crore.
Released for the Christmas weekend, the Ranveer Singh-starrer had clashed with The Matrix: Resurrections on opening day, with both expected to build on the gains of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Pushpa: The Rise-Part One.
However, adequate screen count had proven to be a concern for the two new films, given that Spider-Man and Pushpa, which had released the previous week, were still going strong, especially in single screens and small-towns.
Some trade experts had earlier predicted ‘83 may not find traction among the youth, given that the 1983 World Cup happened much before their lifetime, and may only manage 25-30% of advance ticket sales of No Way Home the night before release. However, others said the film could grow by word-of-mouth and benefit from school vacations and the ongoing festive season, besides the fact that it is peppered with nationalistic fervour. The closure of cinemas in states like Delhi, Bihar and Haryana, imposition of 50% occupancies in several others and the growing Omicron scare has further impacted the business of the film. However, that it has not found audience acceptance is clear from the consistent run of Pushpa.
Big-ticket films like Shahid Kapoor’s Jersey, period drama RRR, Prabhas-starrer Radhe Shyam, Ajith’s action film Valimai and Akshay Kumar’s Prithviraj have deferred theatrical releases in the wake of rising infections.
Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!