Sultan vs Raees: Which film has the edge?

We will be creating separate page with 3 questions on each page. This is to allow discussion in the comments section as QnA pages get 500 plus comments. Please don’t ask questions on this page, it won’t be answered.

Q. Mohenjodaro announced their release date first.. but now Akshay’s Rustom is releasing on same date and they are trying to scare away competition. Is this ethical? (Neeraj)

A. There are two ways to look at this. One, since there are just 52 weeks in a year and more than 200 film releases, there is no way to escape clashes. Every producer is free to pick the date he believes is right for his film.

On the other hand, there seems to be no unity in the industry. When a big budget film like Mohenjo Daro was announced almost a year ago and Hrithik was returning after nearly two years, the makers of Rustom not only announce the date of their film, but also try to create perception that their film is hot in the trade by releasing posters. Akshay even went to the extent of promoting his film on Zee Cine Awards and ensured that he highlighted the ’12 August 2016′ date in every tweet. For some reason, the intention doesn’t seem to be right. The film has just gone on floors about a month ago, Akshay has Housefull 3 before Rustom (promotional campaign for which hasn’t even started). The message seems to be – not only do we want the Independence Day week, but we will go all out to try to push Mohenjo Daro (since the stakes for the film are way too high) and give Rustom a solo release. Not too sure about the ‘ethical’ part of it, but the tactics that team Rustom is using, isn’t the nicest.

Q. What is the recent update on Raees vs Sultan clash? Is the clash still on or will there be a week gap between the two releases?

A. The clash is still on. There is no point in giving a gap of a week between the two films, it’s the holiday weekend of Eid that both films want. If that advantage isn’t there, it’s better to release one film a couple of weeks later.

Q. How many screen will be shared by both sultan and raaees on eid clash – who is having edge now and what is reason of edge?

A. Again, too early to talk about screen share. Screens can get finalised as late as two days before release. Bajirao Mastani shows were finalised at select multiplexes, just a day before release which also affected the advance booking of the film. As far as the ‘edge’ is concerned, Sultan is the hotter film in the trade at the moment.  Salman has dominated Eid, Eid has become synonymous with Salman. People wait for his films during this time of the year. It’s a no brainer, really. It remains to be seen how it goes after the theatrical trailer of both films are out. But eventually though, it’s all about the content. The better film will win and the weaker might underperform. If both films are extraordinary, they’ll still lose out on 25-30% of business.