“A déjà vu of Gadar 2-OMG 2 clash; it’s like second Independence Day week of 2023”: Exhibitors CELEBRATE as not just Animal and Sam Bahadur but even 12th Fail, Jhimma 2 draw audience in hordes

The weekend has turned out to be an exciting one not just for the audience but also for the industry and exhibitors. Animal, the much-awaited film, has exceeded expectations. It had an opening of more than Rs. 50 crores. Despite excessive violence and uncomfortable moments, it has managed to show a jump in the collections on Saturday. Sunday, too, is expected to be huge. Vicky Kaushal-starrer Sam Bahadur, meanwhile, was expected to struggle. However, it is also doing great business and is all set for a weekend of around Rs. 25 crores. What has surprised the exhibition sector, however, is that even the holdover releases continue to find an audience.

 

“A déjà vu of Gadar 2-OMG 2 clash; it’s like second Independence Day week of 2023”: Exhibitors CELEBRATE as not just Animal and Sam Bahadur but even 12th Fail, Jhimma 2 draw audience in hordes

 

12th Fail is currently in its sixth week and is still running with sold-out shows. An exhibition source told Bollywood Hungama, “This film was doing very well before the release of Animal and Sam Bahadur. We expected it to fall from December 1. Surprisingly, viewers continue to flock to see it. Its shows are getting sold out in advance in some theatres.” Not just in Mumbai, but the scenario has been repeated in other cities as well. Bengaluru has been a surprise where the Vikrant Massey-starrer is unstoppable.

 

Jhimma 2, the sequel to the 2021 Marathi hit film Jhimma, is in its second week and it refuses to slow down, though the competition is immense. The source revealed, “There’s a lot of demand for this film but due to new releases and capacity issues, it is having a limited run. Across Maharashtra, it will be difficult to get its tickets today.” The first week's collections were Rs. 7.38 crores and looking at its performance, it is expected to excel at the ticket window at least till the release of Dunki and Salaar in the Christmas week.

 

Lastly, Tiger 3 has slowed down but in some theatres, it is still having a decent run.

 

An exhibitor excitedly told us, “This happened during Gadar 2 and OMG 2. Both these films were sold out and so were old releases like Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Barbie, Oppenheimer, Meg 2, etc. The excitement then was unprecedented and it’s happening again. This is like the second Independence Day week of 2023 for us!” Bollywood Hungama, on August 13, was the first one to report that it was a rare week where almost all films in the country were running house full due to insane demand for all films.

 

Another exhibition source commented, “Animal is a rage. I have never seen so much demand for an adults-only film. A lot of VIPs frequent our cinemas and we usually allot them tickets from the management quota in case they book at the last minute. In the case of Animal, all tickets in the management quota have also been exhausted. Our phones have not stopped ringing as everyone wants to see Animal immediately and we have been telling them there’s no way we can give them tickets as all shows are booked to capacity. Who would have thought a film with so much bloodshed would arouse such kind of curiosity and excitement?”

 

Also Read: Bobby Deol gets teary-eyed at Animal success bash after overwhelming response to his role: “It feels like a dream”

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