It’s official. Baahubali 2 is on course for what the trade believes will be the biggest release in the history of Indian cinema. With the film guaranteed to appear in an upward of 6,000 screens (and efforts on to bring that number closer to 7K), the sequel to SS Rajamouli’s epic war drama starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty and Tamannaah Bhatia, is already off to what is being seen as a blockbuster start.
Screened wide
Says a source, “Bollywood films run on close to 5,000 screens across the country. In South India, 3,000-odd screens cater to major Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films. Do the math. With no other film (Hindi or otherwise) arriving alongside Baahubali 2 on April 28, the only face-off in theatres will be the one on screen — between Prabhas and Rana Daggubati.”
To put things into perspective, the biggest Hindi films release in 4,500-5,000 screens at best (dubbed versions included). The biggest South film doesn’t exceed 2,500-3,000 screens on arrival.
Adds the source, “After being made at the biggest budget ever, it’s natural that the film’s placement will reflect that. Also, given the number of languages, the film will release in, it is expected to take in the biggest opening in the history of Indian cinema. EVER.
Numbers don’t lie
The source continues, “Even if you assume the film releases across 6,500 screens, the first-day collections could well be to the tune of Rs 60 crore. Also, as April 28 is not a holiday, one cannot expect cent per cent collections all over, but they will be huge. Expect numbers to be in the excess of Rs 50 crore, at least. Don’t be surprised if numbers turn out to be even bigger since a film has never had such a lavish pan-India release before.”
