MUMBAI: The weekend before Christmas 2023 was a big one for the Indian film industry. Two big films – Shah Rukh Khan’s Dunki and Prabhas’ Salaar – released in theatres, and all every film fan could talk about was the box office clash.
Things turned ugly too with mudslinging between distributors and exhibitors even as the makers maintained a stoic silence. While in the end, both films succeeded in getting the audiences to the theatres, many wondered if all this could have been avoided.
In a chat with DNA, Dunki director Rajkumar Hirani speaks about films clashing upon release and how it invariably affects box office returns.
When asked if both films working despite the clash was a welcome sign for the industry, Hirani says “From a producer’s perspective, there are a limited amount of theatres in the country. Every viewer may not have enough money to watch films back-to-back or on consecutive days. There are certain people that make a choice to see one film in a week or even a month. So, I am sure at some level it affects both the films.”
But the filmmaker maintains that a clash becomes unavoidable at times due to the limitations of the calendar. “In a clash, business is affected. But there is no option to that because there are 52 weeks and 200 films made. There would be clashes. Sometimes bigger films would clash and sometimes smaller. All these kind of things will continue happening. There is no escape from that,” the filmmaker adds.
Despite the clash, Dunki is cruisng towards the Rs 400-crore mark in worldwide gross and is all set to cross Rs 200 crore in India alone. After a relatively slow start, the film has picked up pace. While Hirani maintains that box office performance is not the best parameter to judge a film, he does not downplay its importance.
He says, “Appreciation to the film is important. That is why we make films so that people can like it. In a way, that is slightly connected to the box office. You definitely want your film to do enough numbers that nobody makes a loss, nobody suffers. Perceptions will differ. But no film should go into a loss so that you can make your next film. Otherwise you get swayed by ‘ok this is not working so let me try something else’. Then you try and go against your instinct, which is a trap. When it does a reasonable number, you are confident for the next time."
Dunki, which also stars Taapsee Pannu, Boman Irani, Anil Grover, and Vikram Kochhar, with Vicky Kaushal in a special appearance, is currently running in theatres across India. As of Tuesday (January 2), the film has earned Rs 200 crore in India and Rs 400 crore worldwide.
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Credits - DNA
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