New Delhi:
Salman Khan’s latest film, Sikandar, hit the screens on March 30. The movie witnessed a decent opening on Eid with housefull shows in certain locations. However, the film is now reportedly getting a mixed reception.
While some cinemas, like the G7 multiplex in Mumbai (including the famous Gaeity-Galaxy), have added more shows due to its strong demand, the film has reportedly not lived up to expectations in cities like Surat, Ahmedabad, Bhopal and Indore.
The report mentioned that despite cancellations and replacements in other cities, Mumbai’s iconic Gaiety-Galaxy (G7 multiplex) is proving to be a major exception.
Since its release on March 30, Sikandar has been running strong in two of their biggest halls – the 991-seater Gaiety and the 818-seater Galaxy. Starting from March 31, the shows were added to meet the demand.
Gaiety Galaxy has also reopened its third screen, ‘Gossip’, which had remained closed for an extended period.
Adding his words to this, Gaiety Galaxy owner Manoj Desai, said, “The re-opening of the third screen, Gossip, at Gaiety Galaxy marked the first time since Pushpa 2’s release. We had to open Gossip to accommodate the overwhelming demand for Sikandar. The excitement surrounding the film has been immense, and the growing crowd of moviegoers made it clear that we needed all three screens to keep up. Since Monday, all three screens have been in operation, with nearly 2000 seats in total, to meet the massive demand. Salman Khan’s powerful presence on screen and his fans’ passion are the driving forces behind this move, showcasing the sheer scale of his stardom in bringing people back to the cinemas.”
Many theatres have reportedly replaced Sikandar with other films due to lower demand.
“We didn’t find any instance of the show getting cancelled in Mumbai. There were shows where the number of viewers was in single digits but on the first two days, no show got cancelled due to no audience. However, the same happened in Surat, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Indore etc., especially in areas where there was little or no Eid effect,” a trade analyst told Bollywood Hungama.
Kiritbhai T. Vaghasia, who runs The Friday Cinema multiplex in Surat, shared that no tickets were sold for the morning shows of Sikandar on Monday.
“Not a single ticket was sold for the 9:00 am and 10:00 am shows on Monday. I was hoping there would be more audience for this film on Eid. Instead, we sold more tickets on Sunday, the day of the release. I guess the word of mouth spread faster, resulting in such dismal numbers on Monday,” he was quoted as saying.
Due to the poor response to Sikandar in his cinema hall, Kiritbhai had to reduce the number of shows.
He mentioned, “I replaced two-night shows with All The Best Pandya and Umbarro. Both these Gujarati films are getting decent footfalls. Surprisingly, Umbarro is in its ninth week and is still attracting an audience.”
In a bit of a shuffle, L2: Empuraan‘s Hindi version, which was screened in both Gossip and the 255-seater Gemini, will now only be shown in Gemini to make room for Sikandar.
Sikandar has been directed by AR Murugadoss. The movie, made on a budget of ₹200 crore, features Rashmika Mandanna as the female lead. Kajal Aggarwal, Sathyaraj and Sharman Joshi are also part of the film.
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