Dussehra is set to be a major clash at the box office as Rishabh Shetty’s ‘Kantara: Chapter-1’ and Karan Johar’s ‘Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari’ vie for screen space. Distributors of Kantara are demanding maximum shows, escalating tensions with exhibitors. This battle for screens may delay advance bookings, leaving exhibitors uncertain about which film will ultimately succeed.
Dusshera is the festival of victory of good over evil but for the movie business it is the battleground for maximum screens. This Dussehra will witness release of two extremely diverse films releasing together, one of Rishabh Shetty’s Kantara: Chapter-1 , sequel to his 2022 blockbuster film Kantara and on the other hand is Karan Johar- Varun Dhawan-Janhvi Kapoor and Shashank Khaitan’s Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari. While one of the folk are from the Southern part of India, the other is a rectangle love story. Since both films are releasing on the same day, the battle has begun between the two over the number of screens. As per a report in Bollywood Hungama the distributors of Kantara have shared their list of demands . They have demanded for all shows in single-screens and 12 shows in two screen cinemas and they have also asked for 18 shows in three-screen multiplexes, which, in other words, also amounts to each and every show. Now in an exclusive conversation with ETimes, an exhibitor on condition of anonymity stated , “ This is quite normal when two films are releasing on the same day. No film is small these days and it is the exhibitors who have small cinemas who suffer the most as they have no say. And these days everyone wants to show their muscle power, the isue should actually be settled between the production houses rather than exhibitors. “ Multiple sources have stated that distributors of both upcoming films have shared their demands with the exhibtors, knowing the demands of the first – the second up stepped up their demands.Our exhibitor source also stated, “ In the ultimate run, it is the exhibitors who will suffer as the lockjam goes till the last minute thereby delaying the opening of advance booking of the film. Also no one knows surely knows which film will surely do well, also the fight is usually for the first day as by then it becomes clear about which of the two film is doing well an “
