Raees officially moves out of Eid weekend

It’s official. Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees, which was first announced for Eid in February last year, has moved out of the lucrative festive weekend. Salman Khan’s Sultan will now get a solo release during what happens to be his most successful release period.

Producer Ritesh Sidhwani confirmed the news of Raees getting postponed.

“It was not an easy decision to move the film. We understand that our movie is highly anticipated. However, a film of such magnitude requires appropriate showcasing. Therefore, we have decided to shift our release date” Sidhwani said.

Starring Shah Rukh Khan, Mahira Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Raees has been indefinitely postponed to a later date.

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Raees Release Timeline:

• February 2015: Raees is announced for Eid 2016.
• 10 April 2015: Raees goes on floors.
• 22 April 2015: Shah Rukh Khan joins the cast and crew
• June 23 2015: Yash Raj Films announces Sultan starring Salman Khan in the lead. Release date sends shock waves, sets up what’s touted as the ‘mother of all clashes’ between Shah Rukh and Salman.
• June 23 2015: Amidst rumours of Raees moving to a later date, Ritesh Sidhwani tweets “Speculation on #Raees release date! It all ends this Eid”
• June 24 2015: A day later, posts yet another tweet clarifying the release date “My timeline tells me a lot of confusion on my last tweet about #Raees release date. Let me clarify. We had announced in February that we will be releasing our film on EID 2016 & we are on schedule to release it as planned #RaeesOnEid2016” Also announces a surprise for Raees fans “And a little surprise for all #Raees fans this EID.. chalo ho Gaya sab confusion clear”
• July 16 2015: Raees Teaser is released, wins universal appreciation
• Media goes crazy over the clash. We write the most detailed article, which has received more than 15 lakh views till date.
• December 2015: A lot is riding on the Bajirao Mastani vs Dilwale clash. Shah Rukh Khan is the king of clashes, no one (media and trade) gives Bajirao Mastani and Sanjay Leela Bhansali a chance. They all know what happened to SLB the last time he decided to take on SRK.
• December 21 2015: With content overpowering superstardom, Bajirao Mastani betters Dilwale at the domestic box office. This sends shockwaves in the industry, yet again. Rumours of Raees moving out of Eid get stronger in the trade.
• February 12 2016: A well-known trade analysts tweets that Raees has moved from Eid. Ritesh Sidhwani once again clarifies and rubbishes the rumours “Some people spreading Rumours about #Raees release being moved.. Like I said RUMOURS”
• April 2016: Shah Rukh Khan’s FAN releases in theatres, opens well but crashes on Monday. Finishes with lifetime domestic business of less than 85 crore. The failure of the film once again sends shockwaves. Trade wants Sultan for Eid, exhibitors at mass centres firmly in favour of the Salman Khan starrer too. Raees releasing just 3 months after FAN isn’t a great idea from a producer’s point of view either. Clash almost certain to be averted, which is confirmed in almost every QnA session here on Indicine.
• May 3 2016: Things get ugly on Wikipedia between Shah Rukh and Salman fans (check tweets and screenshots below). The delay in either confirming the date or announcing that the film has moved to a different date, is now beginning to hurt both films – especially Raees.
• May 3 2016 8PM: On the same day, Ritesh Sidhwani confirms that Raees won’t release during Eid.

When anyone can edit Wikipedia pages, this is what happens. Excel should take action and make the final announcement pic.twitter.com/0IZEP0i6zj

— Indicine.com (@indicine) May 3, 2016

And the #Raees Wikipedia page has been edited again. pic.twitter.com/YJCbfO9PhV

— Indicine.com (@indicine) May 3, 2016