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Pushpa 2 vs Baby John Screen Battle Intensifies: What are Anil Thadani and PVRInox fighting for this Christmas?
The target for Baby John team will be to secure at-least 11,000 shows at an all-India level for Christmas Day against Pushpa 2 and Mufasa: The Lion. Detailed Report
Over the last 2 weeks, the Sukumar directed Pushpa 2: The Rule led by Allu Arjun has set several records at the box office in Hindi. The film is racing towards the Rs 600 crore club in the third weekend and is all set to emerge the #1 Hindi film of all time by a huge margin. After recording an uninterrupted run of 20 days, Pushpa 2 finally faced competition in North India on its 21st day from the Varun Dhawan led Baby John. The competition has already become the talking point in the exhibition sector, as the distributor of Pushpa 2 – Anil Thadani – has gotten into a war with the distribution of Baby John – PVRInox Pictures – over the show sharing for Christmas day.
According to industry sources, Anil Thadani had demanded 50 percent of the total showcasing for December 25 from multiplex chains. “Anil Thadani asked all India multiplex chains to commit 50 percent of the showcasing for the Christmas holiday (Day 21 for Pushpa 2), leaving the remaining 50 percent to be split between Baby John and Mufasa: The Lion King. The distributor asked for an email confirmation from the multiplexes, and when the chains refused to bow down to the demands, AA Films held back on the KDM & release order for third weekend,” a source shared.
The source further added that the bookings for Pushpa 2 were stopped all across the board as the multiplex owners refused to allot 50 percent shows to Pushpa 2 for December 25. “It’s unfair to have 50 percent shows in week 4, leaving nothing for new releases. The multiplexes wished to give fair showcasing to all the films, and collectively took a stand to discontinue Pushpa 2 on the third weekend. On understanding the stance of the exhibitors, Anil Thadani released the KDM for the third weekend, however, will continue to initiate the conversations for December 25 showcasing over the weekend.”
The showcasing demanded by Anil Thadani for December 25 was 50% for Pushpa, leaving 30 percent for Baby John and 20 percent for Mufasa. The showcasing proposed by the multiplex chains is 42 percent for Baby John, 36 percent for Pushpa and 22 percent for Mufasa. “The fight will continue till Monday, but the proposed showcasing for December 25 seems more ideal than the demanded ones by Pushpa 2. The plexes are ready to keep their plans dynamic and make the tweaks based on how films perform at the box office over the new year period,” the source informed.
Read: Highest 2nd Week Box Office Collections - Indian Movies (Hindi Version): Pushpa 2 RULES like a boss
The fight just doesn’t end at multiplexes, as the demand from Anil Thadani for Pushpa 2 at single screens is even higher. “AA Films has demanded 3 out of 4 shows for Pushpa 2 at all single screens for December 25. He has put in an offer – give us 3 shows, or we pull down the film from your property from 3rd Friday itself. The exhibitors for now had no option but agree to the demand, but have already made an internal pact to reach out to Anil’s team and negotiate on the Christmas showcasing, as they wish to lend their support to Baby John as well,” the source shared.
The demands from Pushpa 2’s end are for 75 percent showcasing in all single screens all across the board, and should they fail in doing so, the KDM will be pulled back. “The fight will intensify further in the days to come. While we understand that Pushpa 2 is doing tremendous number, it’s our prerogative to decide on the showcasing. Baby John is a new release on Christmas, and we can’t allot 1 out of 4 shows to a new release, and continue 3 shows for a 3 week old film. We can settle in on 3: 2 for Baby John: Pushpa 2, but right now, our words are falling to deaf ears. Let’s hope better sense prevails,” the source concluded.
While the weekend showcasing for now has been cleared, the eyes are now on how things pan out from Monday. The target for Baby John team will be to secure at-least 11,000 shows at an all-India level for Christmas Day, and let the content blast from thereon leading to the new year period. The Baby John team is contending on the fact that Pushpa 2 got an uninterrupted run for 21 days, and with the drop in occupancy for the film, the least they can arrive at is fair showcasing giving the new film a shot at box office, rather than monopolizing the business by arm-twisting games. Pushpa 2 team on the other hand feels they have a shot at doing Rs 800 crore in Hindi due to the holiday season, and adequate shows are required to create history, as the film still has long legs to explode in the coming 2 weeks.
Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more updates.
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