The Ghazi Attack, Running Shaadi, Iraada Have Their Screens Divided, All Eyes On The Content For Good Footfalls

Moreover, with Jolly LLB 2 running strong and expected to retain around 2700-2800 screens at the least, the newer releases have at best 1500 screens at their disposal (considering the fact that there are earlier releases playing as well). All of this translates into the fact that at an average, 500 odd screens would be divided amongst the three films.

Amongst the three films, The Ghazi Attack is the biggest of them all in terms of budget, scale and setting. A war film, it could well turn out to be a dark horse in case it truly turns out to be well made. The film boasts of an ensemble cast with Rana Daggubati leading the show. Its promotion has been controlled and one waits to see if the final product is truly dramatic and thrilling. Karan Johar is backing the film for its Hindi release and while that would ensure a decent release, audience footfalls would entirely depend on how the word of mouth spreads over the weekend.

Running Shaadi could well have been a much more contemporary film had it released at the time it was supposed to, which is in 2015. However, similar genre films like Happy Bhag Jayegi and Dolly Ki Doli (and of course Tanu Weds Manu Returns) have already come in the past and this means the Taapsee Pannu and Amit Sadh starrer would have to be really entertainer in order to attract audiences in theaters.

The makers are giving the film a decent release with some sort of marketing push and that has helped it gain visibility at the least.

Iraada though is releasing with very little fanfare. It is surprising since the film boasts of a veteran actor like Naseeruddin Shah with Arshad Warsi reminding one of his Seher days. The film seems to be a fair entertainer with a strong message to be delivered as well, what with its pitching as an eco thriller. However, this also required a much better push from the awareness standpoint, both from the content as well as its release perspective. None of that has happened though, which means now it would be critical acclaim that should give the film a push ahead.

All in all, though one doesn’t see a remarkable opening number for these films on their Friday release, the diverse subjects means that if one or more films is liked, it could well take a lead over the weekend and pull it through past the week.

Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder