Dhurandhar 2, which was directed by Aditya Dhar and stars Ranveer Singh, seems to have learned from problems with past release. This time, the high-octane sequel is coming out in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam, which will make it much more popular in South India.
Early signs point to success for the strategy, with many states reporting a lot of advance bookings.
Strong Southern Momentum
It is worth noting that pre-sales in Kerala and Tamil Nadu are unusually strong for a Hindi film of this size. A lot of the excitement comes from how well the first part, Dhurandhar, did, which people still remember.
Word of mouth will be important for the long-term success, especially since the sequel is said to be almost four hours long. If people are as excited about this movie as they were about the first one, it could become the highest-grossing Hindi release in both states. If not, it might be hard to keep viewers interested for such a long time.
The delay of Toxic, which stars Yash and is directed by Geetu Mohandas, has also helped the movie by lowering the number of other movies that will be released on the same weekend.
Rivalry in Kerala
Even though there isn't much competition in the rest of the country, Dhurandhar 2 has a lot of competition in Kerala from the highly anticipated Malayalam comedy-action sequel Aadu 3, directed by Midhun Manuel Thomas.
Sharing screens might make collections for both movies go down at first, but if audiences like them, they might be able to bounce back over time. Early estimates show a great opening, with about Rs 10 crore expected in Tamil Nadu (including premieres) and about Rs 6 crore in Kerala on the first day.
Karnataka Becomes a Stronghold
The movie is doing very well in Karnataka, where advance sales have already made it the biggest Bollywood opening in the state. Pre-sales alone have gone over Rs 7 crore, and total opening numbers are expected to go over Rs 10 crore, mostly because of the large crowds in Bengaluru's multiplex circuits.
Telugu States Show a Mixed Picture
Booking patterns in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh show that people in these areas have different tastes. Analyst Anupam Reddy says that Telangana has already sold almost 100,000 tickets, while Andhra Pradesh has sold about 50,000 to 55,000 tickets so far.
Urban areas, especially Hyderabad, are very interested, especially in the Hindi version of the movie. In fact, it looks like most people are choosing the original Hindi release over the Telugu version that was dubbed.
Single Screens in Telangana focus on Ustaad Bhagat Singh
But things are very different in single screen theatres. A lot of exhibitors in Telangana have decided not to show Dhurandhar 2 at all. Instead, they are focusing on the release of Ustaad Bhagat Singh, which stars Pawan Kalyan.
Also Read: Dhurandhar: The Revenge undergoes 21 CBFC edits; Indian version shorter by 6 minutes
The choice shows that there is a lot of demand in the area, since Pawan Kalyan's movies usually do well in mass circuits. Advance ticket sales for Ustaad Bhagat Singh in Andhra Pradesh are already better than those for the Hindi action movie. This is because the actor has a huge fan base.
A Big Box Office Showdown
Exhibitors expect collections to go up even more once ticket sales start, since tickets are not yet available in some parts of Telangana for the Telugu biggie. In the next few days, we'll find out if Dhurandhar 2 can keep its pan-Indian momentum or if regional stars will decide what movies do well at the box office in key areas.
No matter what, the stage is set for one of the most intense theater battles of the season: a fight between a big action movie from the US and a popular movie from the UK.
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