Has Bollywood wasted a big opportunity this Cricket World Cup season? : Bollywood News

Really, what were most of the corporate houses/big producers thinking? Except for Eros, which is making best of the opportunity by bringing Badlapur (20th February) and NH10 (6th March) in this duration, T-Series, which made sure that its big release Roy (13th February) fetched a good initial in the weekend leading to the Valentine's Day and Yash Raj Films bringing their Dum Laga Ke Haisha (27th February), just about every other leading production/Corporate house has simply looked the other way this World Cup season.

Has Bollywood wasted a big opportunity this Cricket World Cup season?

A big opportunity missed? This is what the trade truly feels.

"That's correct," says distributor and film business analyst Girish Johar, "I believe that a decent opportunity is lost as apart from these three-four films, nothing big is releasing. There have been so many instances in the past that clearly indicate that cricket does not affect a good movie's business. Yes certain matches do impact on a particular day, but not the entire event."

However, this isn't what most of the big producers are thinking. Yes, there are a few smaller films releasing in this duration but none of those biggies that guarantee a whirlwind at the box office via massive all-India release. This is what makes Roy, Badlapur, NH10 and Dum Laga Ke Haisha all the more special.

"A good film runs whatsoever the situation is. It may not open well, but it is sure to get better if the word of mouth is good. So I feel some producers who have full confidence in the content of their film, should have gone ahead and chosen a release date in this period. If they would be lacking somewhere, they surely would be benefitting from getting a longer time at the theatres and have lesser competition from other films," says Harsh Jain, film distributor and exhibitor, Sanman Group.

No wonder, at least in trade the consensus is that the entire threat preposition around Bollywood staying away from bringing new releases during the World Cup is more hype and hoopla than any substance whatsoever.

"Well, all I can say is that we have missed taking the bus here on a good road," shrugs away Johar.

A bus that only a select few like Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma and Ayushmann Khurranna would ride now.