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Director Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani debuted in theatres on Friday, a week after the global blockbuster ‘Barbenheimer’ event, which saw Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer gross nearly a billion dollars worldwide in a week. While interest in Barbie has mostly deflated in India (but not in other countries), Oppenheimer continues to be a major draw at the box office. Amid this, Karan is attempting to not only stage his own successful comeback, but also remind audiences in the value of star-power and old-fashioned Hindi entertainment.
Featuring Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh in the lead roles, alongside industry icons such as Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi and Jaya Bachchan, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani is expected to make Rs 12 crore in India on opening day, according to industry tracker Sacnilk. It registered a 12% occupancy in the Hindi market for morning shows. This is neither good nor bad, and actually bang in the middle of what a handful of similar Hindi-language romantic dramas generated on their opening days.
While director Laxman Utekar’s Zara Hatke Zara Bachke made just over Rs 5 crore on opening day, Sameer Vidwans’ Satyaprem Ki Katha made just under Rs 10 crore, and Luv Ranjan’s Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar made over Rs 15 crore. Each of these movies has been categorised as a hit, in a year that hasn’t been all that great for Bollywood. According to Pinkvilla, the film is being released on over 3,200 screens across the country
Film producer and trade expert Girish Johar told Indian Express recently that Rocky Aur Rani could make around Rs 10 crore on its opening day, while trade analyst Taran Adarsh said that it could actually play well in tier one and tier two centres as well, in addition to the metro audiences that Karan’s movies usually cater to.
This year, only Pathaan and The Kerala Story have earned blockbuster status among Hindi releases. The industry is awaiting the release of big ticket movies such as Jawan, Tiger 3 and Dunki. Rocky Aur Rani is Karan’s first feature film since 2016. While Alia has her Hollywood debut Heart of Stone to look forward to on August 11, there’s a lot riding on the film for Ranveer, who hasn’t had a hit since 2019’s Gully Boy.
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