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LEO (Hindi) Box Office Preview: Thalapathy Vijay starrer Run Time, Screen Count, Advance Booking & Opening Day
The Thalapathy Vijay led Leo directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj was underestimated by many on digital world, but here it is now, on the course to spring in a surprise on day one in Hindi. Details
The countdown for the release of the biggest film of the Tamil Film Industry, the Lokesh Kanagaraj-directed Leo starring Thalapathy Vijay, has begun. The film has scored insane pre-sales across the globe having sold tickets worth Rs 160 crore already for the 4-day opening weekend. It’s no surprise as there was always curiosity around the film, and record-breaking business was always expected. However, the surprise seems to be with the Hindi Version. Leo has been certified U/A with an approved run-time of 2 hours 44 minutes and is looking to release in around 1500 plus screens in India.
Leo scores good response in pre-sales in Non-National Chains
It’s a known fact that Leo is not seeing a release in the National Multiplex Chains as the producers went ahead to sign a 4-week deal with digital players. However, the Hindi distributors have gone all out to fetch showcasing in the non-national multiplexes and single screens. The Thalapathy Vijay starrer has sold approximately 620 tickets in the MovieMax chain for the opening day alone and with 12 days still to go, the film is set to sell around 1000 tickets for the first day. To put things in context, Mission Raniganj had sold 200 tickets for the first day at MovieMax, whereas Fukrey 3 had sold approximately 1000 tickets for the opening day in advance. The advance for OMG 2 stood at 2500 whereas Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani had sold 1410 tickets for the first day. Satyaprem Ki Katha had sold 950 tickets in the chain.
The Lokesh Kanagaraj directorial is competing with all the aforementioned films, which opened in the vicinity of 7 to 11 crore (minus Mission Raniganj), which shows that there is ample of interest to consume the film on the big screen in India. With a proper release, pre-sales of 1000 tickets in MovieMax is equivalent to a national chain advance in the North of 20,000 tickets, which is very good for a film with 0 promotion, and not much effort put into Hindi dubbing.
Leo to spring in a surprise on opening day in Hindi
Another non-national chain, Rajhans, has sold around 950 tickets for the opening day for Leo (Hindi), and much like MovieMax, even Rajhans is headed to score an overall advance in the North of 1750 tickets. The advance at Rajhans is already better than bigger films like Liger (333 tickets), Cirkus (401 tickets), Shehzada (519 tickets), Jug Jugg Jeeyo (627 tickets), Vikram Vedha (805 tickets), Laal Singh Chaddha (925 tickets), and will soon go past Shamshera (1206 tickets), and Prithviraj (1336 tickets), Bholaa (1571 tickets) among others. There is a possibility for Leo to be in the same range as Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan in Rajhans (2232 tickets).
There are some single screens in Bihar, and Kolkata that have recorded good responses in pre-sales. Sanjay Cineplex in Bihar has sold 250 tickets for the opening day, whereas another single screen in Bihar has sold 345 tickets for the first day already. One must note that these numbers are coming for a non-holiday Thursday release of a dubbed film with 0 promotions, and little intent to make it appeal to all India audience. The advances are very good for the film in non-national chains and a start in the north of Rs 2.50 crore seems to be on the cards, with a possibility of going even higher. There are bookings in other non-national chains like MovieTime, CityPride, and Maxus too, and the first day business will eventually boil down to the capacity that the film would have on the day of release. The ticket pricing is nominal for LEO across the board.
What has led to the hype around Leo in Hindi?
Given the initial demand in the audience, there are single screen owners across the country who are giving preference to Leo over the Hindi release, Ganapath, and this is a scenario that none could have imagined. With a proper release and a little push in Hindi, Leo could have actually taken a start that none in the industry imagined, but alas, Leo's team missed the bus of scoring in Hindi.
Some might be wondering what has led to this initial response to Leo and the answer is simple – Vikram has been appreciated post the digital premiere and introduced the audience to the world of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s cinema. The launch asset ‘Bloody Sweet’ highlighted the Hindi release and the presence of Sanjay Dutt has also led to excitement in the audience. There is a talk of LCU and the curiosity factor always works, as Vikram is a genuine success on the digital space in North markets. The film has been underestimated by the entire Hindi Film Fraternity, but here it is now, on the course to spring in a surprise on day one.
Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more number-crunching analysis of Leo (Hindi).
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