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Bell Bottom vs Fast and Furious 9: What does the clash between Akshay Kumar and Vin Diesel mean?
Fast and Furious Furious 9 will hit its business potential of Bell Bottom by at-least 15 to 20 percent due to overlapping of the multiplex audience for the two films. Detailed Report
On Friday, Akshay Kumar announced that his upcoming action thriller, Bell Bottom, will release in the cinema halls across the globe on August 19. The announcement came days after Universal Pictures' decision of bringing the Vin Diesel franchise, Fast and Furious 9, on the same day. While the cinema halls have seen a dull run over the last 18 months, things finally look a little bright with multiple big-ticket entertainers lined up for release.
However, the clash has got the industry divided. While the exhibitors are sure of getting audiences back to the cinema halls on August 19, the fear factor here lies in the fact that both Fast and Furious 9 and Bell Bottom might eat onto each other’s business. Any other Hollywood film might not have been a worthy opposition, however, Fast and Furious is a loved franchise and has a loyal audience base in India.
The trade is of the opinion that Bell Bottom will undoubtedly lead over Furious 9 at the box office for multiple reasons – the presence of a superstar like Akshay Kumar and his return to the big screen after almost 20 months, a big-ticket Hindi film experience after a considerably long time – however, Furious 9 will hit its business potential by at-least 15 to 20 percent due to overlapping of the multiplex audience for the two films. The exhibitors too will prioritize Bell Bottom in showcasing, as it’s a Hindi film with an A-List superstar. Furious 9 too has a lot to lose here as India has always done respectable biz for the franchise, however, with the audience being spoiled for choices, the scenario would be a little unpredictable.
Ideally, clash is the last thing that the industry wants at this point of time and with three weeks still in hand, it would be ideal if the producers and distributors churn out a release plan in a way that Bell Bottom arrives on August 19 and Furious 9 a week later on August 26. Talking of the screen count, it all depends on the number of districts in India that are open for film exhibition and the number of cinema halls that decide to reopen. More announcements from Hindi film producers in the days to come will motivate more and more cinema halls to open up by the time Bell Bottom releases, as exhibitors will finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. A wide release for Bell Bottom can be expected, however, we would get some clarity on exact screen count only closer to it’s release week.
The things are finally restarting with Akshay Kumar and team Bell Bottom taking the brave step of bringing their film on the big screen and this will surely result in many more release date announcements in the coming week.
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