Taran Adarsh: “There’s a crucial reason why three important films are clashing this Independence Day: holidays and more holidays, starting 15 August.15 August is a national holiday, it’s a big day as far as boxoffice revenue is concerned. If you look at the data of previous years, you will realise that a majority of films that released on Independence Day have attracted massive footfalls at cinemas and the boxoffice earnings have been huge. Of course, it boils down to the content eventually, but holidays do play a crucial part in boosting boxoffice revenue. This year, if the content works, the celebrations will continue for almost 10 days. Independence Day, Raksha Bandhan and Janmashtami, imagine the business of movies if the content clicks. This is the key reason why these films are clashing.As of now, the craze and hype for Stree 2 is unparalleled. The advance bookings are excellent so far, don’t be surprised if the film collects 30 cr+ on Independence Day. There’s minimal hype for Khel Khel Mein and Vedaa at the moment, but the big holiday should boost their numbers. Vedaa has an edge in mass circuits since action films, generally, fare well there. I am sure, the coming week will throw a lot of surprises.”
Girish Johar: “This Independence Day weekend the Hindi box office is expected to be on fire. Three big films are releasing together, Stree 2, Vedaa and Khel Khel Mein. The good part is all three have different target audiences and history is proof, if all match audience’s expectations there are good chances that all three can do well. The box office booty available during this extra long holiday weekend is quite huge, and can satiate all three films. On the other hand , the competition is tough, and this also opens up the possibility of the poor or mediocre content to nosedive and crash. I am quite confident that all three will find their audiences. Also Stree 2 definitely has a huge lead over the other two. Its trailer, its brand, its marketing, its genre, it music are all hitting bullseye, making it the first choice.”
Akshay Rathi: “The good thing is that the movies that are releasing on the 15th of August, Khel Khel Mase 3, 2 and Veda, all belong to very different genres and cater potentially to very different target audiences. But what will definitely get a little intimidating and unfortunate is the clash around the number of screens that are to be divided between the three films because so far there is no consensus which is unanimously acceptable on it. So that tug of war like most of these big dates where multiple movies are releasing is underway and I truly hope that unlike a few times in the past, it can happen in an amicable and seamless manner without getting dirty.Also I’m really hopeful of the fact that films like Stree which are a part of a franchise can really bring some much needed sunshine at the box office. And then of course Veda is John Abraham in the mass action genre which he is very good at. Akshay Kumar is back in a comedy after a fairly long time and that’s a genre he is aced very often.So fingers crossed and here’s hoping that this Independence Day all of us have reasons to cheer.”
Atul Mohan: “Stree 2 is the clear winner among the three films releasing on Independence Day. The Stree brand has outshined the remakes KKM and Vedaa. The trailer was outstanding, giving it a significant edge over the competition on August 15th. Exhibitor’s confidence in Stree 2 is reflected in the screen allocation, with the film securing more than 50% of screens and showtimes. This leaves Vedaa and KKM to share the remaining 50%. Vedaa is focusing on single screens, while KKM is targeting multiplexes and urban areas. Stree 2, however, is popular across both. With advance bookings going strong, Stree 2 is expected to open at 25+ crore, possibly even 30+. The other two films are likely to open close to double digits.”