New Delhi:
After being mired with controversies for a while now, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat will finally see the light of the day on January 25. With such violent protests surrounding Padmaavat, indeed the curiosity amongst the audience regarding the movie has reached its peak.
Indeed, speculations are rife about how Padmaavat will fare at the box office given the intense protests and threats against the movie.
Besides, the Bhansali directorial, which stars Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor in the lead, also witnessed a ban in four states including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana after which the security has been beefed up in the states.
Given the intense situation regarding Padmaavat, it is reported that the protests are likely to affect the box office collection of the movie.
As per Bollywood trade analyst Girish Johar, Padmaavat had a chance to mint around Rs 20 crore on opening day if it was released in normal conditions. However, considering the situation, the movie is likely to witness average figures at the box office.
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“At the end of the day, viewers are only looking to be entertained and they would avoid getting into a ruckus, as much as possible. Therefore, the advance bookings of Padmaavat have also been affected in that regard. While in some cities, the bookings are as strong as ever, there are also some pockets where people have shown little or no interest in the advance booking of the tickets. Mostly, people have found it wise to take a back seat currently and give the aggrandized situation a day or two and then take a decision about watching the film in cinema halls,” Girish was quoted saying to Indian Express.
On the other hand, given the favorable reviews, Padmaavat reportedly witnessed an excellent opening of around 50 to 55 per cent. Going by the occupancy, it is expected that the movie will make an earning of around Rs 15-20 crore on its day of release.
Interestingly, post the release of Bhansali's magnum opus, the movie has won audience's support as the viewers have strictly condemned the violent protests by the fringe groups.
The viewers were even quoted as saying that the historical drama is just not disparaging the image of any community.
We wonder if the favorable reviews will help Padmaavat gain some box office numbers.
