Ever since the makers announced Adipurush in August 2020, it, inarguably, became one of the most anticipated films. Based on the Hindu epic Ramayana, Adipurush is directed by Om Raut and stars Prabhas as Lord Ram and Kriti Sanon as Janaki. The first teaser of the film was launched amid a grand event in Ayodhya during Dussehra last year. However, its VFX was widely slammed by netizens following which the makers invested a hefty amount and reworked the special effects, making Adipurush one of the most expensive Indian films ever made.
Needless to say, Prabhas’ fans are beyond exhilarated to see their favourite superstar playing Raghav. Controversies, needless to say, have added to the intrigue and many anticipate that it might just be one of the biggest grossers of all times. As conversations and predictions surrounding the box office performance of the film continues, News18 exclusively speaks to trade experts, who weigh in on their opinions on Adipurush and its day one numbers.
The advance booking for the film began on Sunday (June 11) in the Hindi-speaking belt. As for Hyderabad, Prabhas’ home ground, it began yesterday (June 14). Trade analyst, Atul Mohan, tells us that the phenomenal advance booking in Hyderabad is a sign that the film will rake in the moolah. “The advance booking is looking good. Most of the tickets for day one in Hyderabad have been sold out. It’s quite high for the Hindi version too in theatres across big cities and metropolitans,” he says.
As for the tier two and three cities, he’s confident that the film will pick up on Friday. “Smaller towns are slower but they will contribute to the opening day numbers as theatres in small towns witness a lot of spot bookings. As per the buzz and build-up, we can expect a good start in single screens in both small and big cities,” he points out.
With Zara Hatke Zara Bachke working wonders at the box office, it seems like families are once again swarming back to the theatres. And that, producer and film business expert, Girish Johar, feels is what will push Adipurush towards creating a tsunami at the box office. “The buzz is quite good. The anticipation level is quite phenomenal. It’s our age-old story, which is being told in a new avatar. The family audience would want to take their children to see it so that they are aware of our mythology. That’s why parents are very keen on watching the film,” he remarks.
Chennai-based trade analyst Ramesh Bala is confident that the film will do exceedingly well in two of its major markets. Shedding light on the same, he says, “It should do well in Hindi and Telugu as these are the two primary markets for Adipurush and the advance booking in both of these territories looks good. As for Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the collections will be on the lower side compared to the two big markets. The fate of an animation film has always been unpredictable in India even though there’s a huge market for it here. Live-action is a done and dusted genre.”
So, what does he think are the first day figures going to look like? “I’m looking at a substantial Rs 50-60 crore opening. There’s a whole lot of excitement among Prabhas fans in both the Telugu-speaking states,” he avers.
Johar feels that the number of screens and shows allotted to Adipurush is a sign that the Friday figures will be mammoth. “It should be releasing across 4000 screens. There are shows as early as five o’clock in the morning in certain cities. That means that the dynamics of the box office will be very strongly at play. I think Adipurush, for sure, will take an opening in the range of Rs 40-50 crore across all the languages, which will definitely put the film in the list of the top ten highest grossers, all languages combined. If the film is accepted by the audience and meets their expectations, that number could be much higher,” he explains.
Mohan opines that touching the Rs 50 crore mark will be a cakewalk for Adipurush. Predicting more than Rs 60 crores on day one, he says, “To touch the Rs 50 crore mark on day one, they need to sell around ten lakh tickets at the rate of Rs 500. But most theatres are selling tickets for Rs 200-300. According to the advance booking, the south belt should be contributing a larger percentage. The Hindi belt, comparatively, is slower. If we combine both, Rs 50 crore is a child’s play. Adipurush might earn Rs 30-40 crore from south and Rs 30-35 crore from the Hindi belt.”
So, what are the factors that could make the epic historical film a blockbuster? “Prabhas has a huge star power and has a massive following. Kriti Sanon is also very popular. Om Raut is a hit director. The film is definitely headed to a good start,” asserts Johar.
Enlisting the other factors, he explains, “After Pathaan, this is one major release. Secondly, there’s a summer break going on. The nature of the story is a mythology, which almost every household believes in. Earlier, we used to have a joint family system and our grandmothers would tell us stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata. But in nuclear systems, that idea of storytelling has probably fragmented and parents, today, want to revive that. That’s the biggest advantage that the story of Adipurush lends itself to. The fact that there’s no past big releases is also an added advantage.”
Its unique promotional strategies have also added to the hype. During a trailer event for the film in Tirupati, Raut made a request to the film’s producers to reserve an empty seat in every theatre where the film is screened as a gesture of honour to Lord Hanuman. It might have received mixed reactions but Bala feels it has piqued the audience’s curiosity. “The news has reached a lot of people who weren’t even aware of Adipurush as it has been flashed across WhatsApp and mainstream media. It’s a peculiar marketing strategy to reserve a seat for Lord Hanuman. We don’t know about the implementation in terms of how many shows, chains and theatres will follow that because nobody is going to check. But the news has given the film a good and free publicity,” he remarks.
Apart from the love fans have been showering on it, one can’t ignore the controversies that Adipurush has been embroiled in. But seems like the adage ‘even bad publicity is good publicity’ still holds true in showbiz. Mohan points out that the makers already emerged triumphant when they paid heed to the audience’s opinions and decided to rework the film.
He elaborates, “After the first teaser, the makers respected the sentiments of the audience who didn’t like it. They went back, did their homework and rectified as much as they could. And that’s the first victory they achieved. They delayed the film by six months and put another Rs 100-150 crore to make all the necessary corrections to meet the audience expectations. The second teaser and the trailer looks so much more improvised. We all know what sentiments Lord Ram holds in our heart and mind. Two of its songs, Jai Shri Ram and Ram Siya Ram, have become very popular.”
Bala believes that its religious themes have struck a chord with many and being able to reach its target audience has made them a winner already. “The core constituency – like the Hindi religious groups and Ram bhakts – seems to be happy. They don’t have any reservations and are openly welcoming the movie. The controversies added to the buzz. Their target audience seems to be excited. Others are cautiously optimistic about its day one collections. They’re looking forward to see how the special effects are,” he says.
According to him, the only thing that might work against Adipurush is its lengthy runtime and the biggest challenge lies in keep the audience engrossed throughout the film. “It’s a lengthy three-hour movie and so, they want to see how engaging it is. It’s not a typical mass film like a KGF or a Baahubali. So, it hasn’t generated as much excitement among everyone. People know the story of Ramayana, so there’s no surprise there. But how they have executed it, is something that everyone is waiting to watch on Friday,” Bala remarks.
Adipurush is all set to release on June 16 in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada languages.
