Journalism of Courage
Ajay Devgn's Singham Again and Kartik Aaryan's Bhool Bhuliyaa 3, both are scheduled to release on November 1. This highly anticipated Diwali box office clash between Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 has taken a dramatic turn. Scroll to know more.
With less than 10 days to go, T-Series, the producers of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, has approached the Competition Commission of India (CCI), alleging unfair practices by the makers of the Rohit Shetty directorial. The production house is seeking a fair distribution of screens, proposing a 50-50% split, for the two films.
T-Series has petitioned the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the regulatory body responsible for promoting economic growth and consumer welfare through healthy competition, to intervene in the screen allocation dispute.
"PVR Pictures, the distributor of Singham Again, has allocated over 60% of shows in PVR Inox theaters to the film. Furthermore, certain single-screen theaters have been asked to dedicate all shows to Singham Again, with some allowed to screen Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 only in early morning slots," source shared with indianexpress.com.
Analysing the situation, film producer and film business expert Girish Johar shared, "The clash is nothing new in the industry. It’s been ages since we’ve seen films clashing on big weekends and festivals. The point here is that it all depends on demand and supply. By and large, we have multiplexes that do flexible programming. So one may use their might on the first two days, but thereafter it’s the content. Multiplexes automatically change their shows if the other film is not doing well."
Notably, Ajay Devgn, star of Singham Again, had previously approached the CCI in 2012 when his film Son Of Sardaar faced a similar issue during its clash with Yash Chopra’s Jab Tak Hai Jaan, starring Shah Rukh Khan, on Diwali in 2012.
Regarding the CCI’s potential intervention, Girish Johar expressed, "The last time something like this happened (in 2012), they didn’t say anything. They said let market forces decide. At the end of the day, even if it does intervene, it has to consider a lot of things, like the cost of Singham Again is much higher than Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3."
Singham Again boasts an impressive ensemble cast, including Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tiger Shroff, Arjun Kapoor, and Jackie Shroff.
On the other hand, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 features Kartik Aaryan, Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit, and Triptii Dimri.
