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The theatre owners have given it a thumbs-up; they well know they are going to be fed with another biggie from Reliance in Christmas 2021 – Ranveer Singh-led ’83.
There were whispers since last evening that this has created a bit of an issue in the Salman Khan-Varun Dhawan-Aayush Sharma starrer ‘Antim‘ and the English film Marvel’s ‘Eternals‘ as both had planned to release it on the same date that ‘Sooryavanshi’ ended up choosing.
As soon as the whispers reached our ears, we called up leading distributor Sunil Wadhwa, who is distributing ‘Sooryavanshi’ in Bombay Circuit. In his confirmation to what we had heard, Wadhwa said, “We welcome the decision of the Maharashtra State Government to reopen cinemas from October 22 and it has given us immense pleasure to announce our most awaited film of the year ‘Sooryavanshi’ as a Diwali release for not only the exhibitors but also for the moviegoers who were waiting for a big tentpole film. We are awaiting the SOP guidelines for Maharashtra based on which our distribution strategy will be planned.
In lieu of the above, all exhibitors have given us their solidarity to showcase ‘Sooryavanshi’ with 100 percent screen space, in fact in other states where cinemas have already reopened there is still a big chunk of cinemas which will open only with ‘Sooryavanshi’.”
ETimes then called up Shariq Patel, CEO of Zee Studios, to ask in case they’re holding on to Diwali 2021 for ‘Antim’. Patel said, “We haven’t decided on the date. When we do so, we shall announce.” We told him that it had been reported that they had zeroed down on November 5, but Patel countered it by saying, “Woh toh kuch na kuch aata rehta hai (Things get written about).”
For those who’ve come in late, trade expert Taran Adarsh had put out a prominent tweet last Sunday that ‘Sooryavanshi’ and ‘Antim’ are clashing with each other on November 5.
CLASH CONFIRMED: ‘SOORYAVANSHI’ VERSUS MARVEL… #RohitShetty’s #Sooryavanshi [#AkshayKumar, #KatrinaKaif,… https://t.co/3p7el27kiS
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) 1632570149000
Anyway, it is clear from Patel’s statement that ‘Antim’ is not coming on November 5. And Marvel’s ‘Eternals’?
As for Marvel’s ‘Eternals’, our top source says, “They might not budge putting up a reason that their movie is having a worldwide release. But we wonder where it will find a place in India? Multiplexes have all locked ‘Sooryavanshi’ all the way for Diwali 2021.”
Our source also told us that it is amply justifiable that Reliance is asking for monopoly for ‘Sooryavanshi as it is commendable on the makers’ part to have waited for so long for the cinema halls to open and not give it away on OTT.
Don’t we sense many more stories on clashes, demands and date-shifting in the near future?