The D-Day is now less than 48 hours away. Finally the biggest Indian film of all times, 2.0, would be hitting the screens. The makers have declared the budget to be in excess of Rs.500 crore and that by itself pretty much signifies the kind of moolah that needs to be earned back just for recovery. Of course, an effort of over three years warrants that there are hefty profits being made as well. However for now the first milestone is getting the investment back and it would be only post that where added numbers would begin to come in.
The film has been making just the right noise, especially in the last 10-15 days. The vibes are good, the hype appropriate and the buzz adequate. This may not be in the Baahubali zone yet (even though Karan Johar is backing this one up as well) but then there are all the signs of a big budget extravaganza waiting to explode on screens.
Rajinikanth's last release Kaala hadn't made much of a mark amongst audiences. However when it comes to a film like 2.0, there is a huge brand recall value. On the other hand Akshay Kumar has been consistency personified, as was the case with Gold and before that PadMan. Meanwhile director Shankar is known for bringing something extraordinarily new each time around. His Robot was a technological marvel and a superb entertainer, and now 2.0 is by all means his biggest and hopefully even the best.
The film is said to be releasing in over 6500 screens with the Hindi version arriving in 4000 out of these (official numbers are still awaited). That by itself makes it the most widespread release ever for Akshay Kumar. It is a given that if one accounts for all languages (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu), the film would see an excellent opening number. However if one just counts for the Hindi version then rest assured, it is set to be Akshay Kumar's biggest till date. While at the bare minimum an opening day of over Rs.25 crore is on the cards, Rs.30 crore would be optimum.
One also needs to consider the fact that the film is releasing on a Thursday and it is not even a national holiday. Hence, a big number on the opening day itself should go a long way in ensuring a hefty extended weekend.
