The countdown for the release of Shah Rukh Khan and Rajkumar Hirani’s maiden collaboration, Dunki has begun. The social dramedy also starring Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal and Boman Irani, set against the backdrop of illegal immigration, is ready for release on December 21, leading to the Christmas 2023 holidays. Dunki was certified U/A by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with an approved runtime of 2 hours and 41 minutes.
Dunki expected to release on 4000 screens in India
The Shah Rukh Khan-led film is being released by Pen Marudhar in India and the distributors are headed to give a wide release to Dunki on around 4000 screens on the opening day. Owing to the clash scenario from December 22, the showcasing would reduce on the second day and the variable factor will depend on the kind of reception this Rajkumar Hirani film receives on the opening day. While the fight is on at single screens for showcasing on Friday, there will be a clearer picture on both show-sharing in non-nationals for the weekend only by Thursday noon at the fight between both the stakeholders will go till the wire.
The bookings for Dunki opened on Saturday evening and the response so has been good for the genre it belongs to. The collaboration of Shah Rukh Khan and Rajkumar Hirani is the driving force for the pre-sales of Dunki. As of Wednesday noon, Dunki has sold around 1.65 lakh tickets for the opening day alone, and the film will be looking to close its bookings in the vicinity of 2.50 to 2.75 lakh in PVRInox and Cinepolis. On the comparison front, Brahmastra had sold 3.02 lakh tickets in the top 3 chains, whereas Tiger 3 had sold 3.15 Lakh tickets in the top chains.
Dunki’s advance booking will be looking to reach the Gadar 2 (2.74 lakh) numbers in the national chains by Wednesday midnight. The third largest national chain, Miraj, has sold around 11,000 tickets for the opening day and will be looking to close in the vicinity of 18,000 tickets. To put things to perspective, Tiger 3 had sold 25,000 tickets and Gadar roared with 31,000 ticket sales. MovieMax chain has sold around 4500 tickets for the opening day by Wednesday noon and will be looking to close with sales of around 7000 tickets. To put things in perspective, Brahmastra had sold 6500 tickets in the chain, whereas Tiger 3 total sale was around 8400 tickets.
Dunki targets an opening day around Rs 30 crore
Given the advance booking trends, the first day of Dunki is expected to be around the Rs 30 crore mark, and then it’s going to be a journey of building on from there on. Rajkumar Hirani films are never about the opening day, but what happens post that and the hope is on the trajectory to continue for Dunki as well. While the start will be good enough for the film to release mid-week on non-holiday, it’s the trend from Saturday to Monday that will decide where the film is headed in the long run.
If the reports are anywhere close to the previous directorial of Rajkumar Hirani, the sky will be the limit as the family audience will throng into the cinema halls in big numbers through the extended holiday period of almost 2 weeks. Shah Rukh Khan is at the peak of his career coming off 2 all-time blockbusters and hence it won’t take too long for the positive talk to spread and lead to a quick spike in business from evening shows on opening day itself. It’s not a conventional front-loaded film and hence reports are a must, which should start rolling out from Thursday morning, translating into ticket sales for not just the evening shows but also the weekend.
Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more updates on the theatrical run of Dunki.
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