Box office clashes are stuff nightmares are made of. Movie screens get divided and in the process films end up not earning up to their potential.
Akshay Kumar, whose “Rustom” is set to lock horns with Hrithik Roshan’s “Mohenjo Daro,” is unfazed by the impending battle. He believes both are big films and wishes well for both.
“It’s(August 12) is a big date, it’s a huge date. It has a lot of holidays (August 15 – Independence Day and August 18 – Raksha Bandhan, plus the weekend). And history has shown that two films which had released on such days, have both made money. It has happened a lot of times. We wish both the films do well,” an entertainment portal quoted him as saying.
Akshay denied reports that he wanted to move his film a week ahead so that “Mohenjo Daro” could enjoy a solo run.
Even though “Mohenjo Daro” is Hrithik’s return to the big screen after two long years, the film has sort of failed to live up to its hype. Sequences from its trailer have been severely criticised on social media and the music album hasn’t been received well by fans.
Whereas, “Rustom” has delivered a hit romantic song with “Tere Sang Yaara” and its trailer too has garnered positive reviews.
Meanwhile, trade analysts who were betting big on Hrithik’s film raking in Rs 20 crore on Day 1, have lowered their expectations; the period film may collect just Rs 12 crore now, which is a massive dip. Experts believe “Rustom” will put up Rs 10 crore on the board on opening day, which is higher than what was predicted earlier.
Box office wars have become common place now and this isn’t the first time that two big films have hit the screens on the same day. “Gaddar – Ek Prem Katha” and “Lagaan” were out on the same day and so were “Dilwale” and “Bajirao Mastani.” In the coming months, “Raees” and “Kaabil” too will fight it out at the box office as they are both scheduled to be released on Jan. 26, 2017.
In other news, “Rustom” is directed by Tinu Suresh Desai and stars Ileana D’Cruz, Esha Gupta and Arjan Bajwa in key roles. “Mohenjo Daro” is helmed by Ashutosh Gowariker and features fresh face Pooja Hegde and Kabir Bedi in the lead.
