Salman Khan’s Bodyguard & Sanjay Dutt’s Rascals: Non-Friday Releases Decoded

In recent times, we have had two much-anticipated films, Salman Khan’s Bodyguard and Sanjay Dutt’s Rascals releasing on a Wednesday and Thursday respectively instead of the usual release day, Friday. What this advance release did for Bodyguard is something that we all know: the film went on to become the fastest grossing Bollywood film ever and broke all records for the first weekend’s collections. Obviously, the super box-office result was not just because of the Wednesday release but due to a host of factors which worked in favour of the film. Only last week, Rascals released on the Dussehra holiday (Thursday) and collected the most monies on the opening day (Rs. 7.25 – 7.50 crore) as compared to other days of the first weekend.

When and why should one release a film on a Thursday (as with Rascals) or a Wednesday (like Bodyguard, or the forthcoming Ra.One)? Koimoi.com Editor Komal Nahta explains…

Thursday Release: Pros & Cons

There are plus points of releasing a film on a Thursday if it is a public holiday that day, and there are minus points of the same. Generally speaking, a film benefits from a Thursday release if and only if it is very eagerly awaited because then, the film gets a four-day bountiful weekend instead of the usual three-day weekend. Since the film is highly anticipated, it takes a bumper initial on Thursday owing to the holiday and then goes on to do brisk business on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But a Thursday release can work to the detriment of a film if it is not very keenly awaited. That’s because the public is conventionally used to a film opening on Friday, not Thursday. And if the public report of a film released on Thursday is negative, collections of the remaining three days take a beating. So, one has to be very careful when planning to release a film on an odd day. Unless the public has very high expectations from a film, it is not advisable to open a film on a Wednesday or Thursday.

Komal Nahta, the Editor of Koimoi.com, is Bollywood’s most trusted trade analyst & film reviewer. You can follow him on Twitter and check out his Video Blog.

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