Thank God, Ram Setu advance booking: dull diwali for Bollywood?, prominent trade experts respond

Thank God opening day

As far as reports available by the time of this write up, Thank God is likely to open around Rs 12 to 14/15 core The Inder Kumar directed comedy is a grand Diwali attraction and is releasing in around 2500 screens (still to be confirmed). Looking at the scale and track record of Ajay Devgn during Diwali, the opening day trend hinting at a 12 – 15 crore for Thank God is much below par.

Ram Setu opening day

As far as reports available by the time of this write up, Ram Setu the Akshay Kumar starrer is slightly better and likely o open with Rs 15 to 18 crore on day one.

The Abhishek Sharma-directed social action adventure thriller also stars Jacqueline Fernandez, and Nusrratt Bharuccha.

Akshay Kumar has had a terrible phase this year with three back to back super flops - Bachchhan Paandey, Raksha Bandhan, Samrat Prithviraj, the once bankable star is hoping for a change in fortune and considering his disastrous box office stint in the year 2022, an opening of 15 crore is welcomed but considering the grand diwali occasion it is below par.

The film is seeing a clash with the Indra Kumar-directed comedy, Thank God, starring Ajay Devgn, Sidharth Malhotra, and Rakul Preet Singh, and hence, the showcasing as also screen count will be divided across the nation. According to early trends, Ram Setu is headed for a fairly good release on about 3000 screens and the studio is approaching the film with a tight showcasing policy with tailormade show timing based on the location and target audience. The advance bookings opened on Thursday, but the response so far isn’t up to the mark.

The screen count of Ram Setu is reportedly around 3000+ (to be confirmed).

Prominent trade expert’s opinion - respected senior trade analyst Komal Nahata

Respected senior trade analyst Mr. Komal Nahata said that the diwali release this time is below the normal norms. “Normally a diwali release sees a bumper opening with excitement levels amongst the industry and the audience running equally high. Unfortunately this diwali the case with Thank God and Ram Setu is not that encouraging”.

According to Mr. Komal Nahata’s analysis the reason behind the average advance opening is lack of buzz. He said, “ the trailers of Thank God and Ram Setu failed to excite the target audience the way it should have, the movie shave not generated that strong roaring buzz as a grand diwali Bollywood release must have, the audience is applying the wait and watch policy”.  

Mr. Komal Nahata is hopeful that the positive word of mouth will boost the sales after release.

Atul Mohan editor of trade magazine complete cinema said, “ Diwali 2022 is not that crackling, post pandemic the audience has adopted a wait and watch approach in Bollywood, the ticket pricing factor is an issue at places, plus the clash of the two biggies Thank God starring Ajay Devgn and Ram Setu starring Akshay Kumar has triggered a competition in screen sharing”.

Prominent trade expert’s opinion - Atul Mohan editor Complete Cinema

Atul Mohan editor of trade magazine complete cinema said, “ Diwali 2022 is not that crackling, post pandemic the audience has adopted a wait and watch approach in Bollywood, the ticket pricing factor is an issue at places, plus the clash of the two biggies Thank God starring Ajay Devgn and Ram Setu starring Akshay Kumar has triggered a competition in screen sharing”.

Atul Mohan also said that post the festival days and   positive word of mouth (hopefully) the audience will flock in”.

Let’s hope that Thank God and Ram Setu fulfill audience expectations and the numbers swell in multiples from October 25, 2022 onwards.

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