South superstar Vijay’s final film Jana Nayagan's release delay deals a blow to exhibitors

Thalapathy Vijay’s last film Jana Nayagan

• Jana Nayagan's release postponed due to CBFC withholding certification in India
• Advance bookings refunded; film had sold lakhs of tickets before delay
• RajaSaab set to release January 9, expected to earn Rs 55-60 crore opening day

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Exhibitors have been caught off guard by the postponement of Jana Nayagan, South superstar Vijay’s much-anticipated final outing before his political foray.

The film, originally slated for a January 9 release, was expected to anchor the festive box office calendar across South India.

An exhibitor from Karnataka said the delay in the film's release is a huge loss for him.

"We had opened advance booking for 15 shows over the weekend. Now, we have no clarity around the Censor Board's decision. We were expecting big business fueled by the Sankranti/Pongal celebration. The advance booking for all shows of Jana Nayagan were houseful. But now we have refunded all the shows," the theatre owner told Moneycontrol.

Another exhibitor noted that he had opened advance bookings for six shows. "About 1,000 tickets were sold in advance. Now, we have given BookMyShow intimation to start the refund process. It is indeed a business loss."

The first theatre owner pointed out that shows of the movie across the globe have been cancelled. "The movie was going to be released in more than 100 countries. While it received censor clearance in overseas markets, it did not receive it in India."

The release has been stalled after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) withheld certification and called for a second revising committee to examine the film. The Jana Nayagan case will return to the Madras High Court on January 9.

While exhibitors await the new release date for the film, Bhuvanesh Mendiratta, Managing Director, Miraj Entertainment pointed to high box office expectations from the film. The film is Vijay's last venture so the buzz especially in the Southern states has been very strong."

Opening day expectations were Rs 100 crore at the worldwide box office which would have made the movie Vijay's third Rs 100 crore opener after Leo and The Greatest Of All Time.

In its advance booking sales, the film is estimated to have collected Rs 50 crore across the globe before the release delay was announced. As many 2.9 lakh tickets across 2,400 shows in India of Jana Nayagan were sold until the release got pushed.

BookMyShow alone pre-sold around 4.5 lakh tickets for Jana Nayagan. The movie was trending as the 10th best ticket pre-sales for a Tamil film on the platform.

While Jana Nayagan's release delay is a setback, Mendiratta said that there are high expectations from another regional release --- Prabhas' RajaSaab which is releasing on January 9.

"Regional has had a strong start this year. RajaSaab will be strong in the Telugu belt. If Jana Nayagan releases a day or two later than its original release date then Sankranti/Pongal can fuel the business and the box office momentum will be maintained," Mendiratta said.

However, it looks like the makers of Jana Nayagan will eye the January 26 holiday as the Pongal/Sankranti 8-day festive period is a missed opportunity. A big holiday period will be key for the film which is mounted on a budget of around Rs 500 crore.

With no clash, RajaSaab is expected to pocket Rs 55-60 crore across all languages in India on opening day.