Bollywood actor Salman Khan ruled the box office during Eid for the last three years but it's Shah Rukh Khan's turn to cash in on the festive season as his film, "Chennai Express" is set to hit the screens on Eid and is expected to create new records at the box office.
"Chennai Express" is an action-packed romantic comedy film starring Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in the lead roles. The film has created huge hype before the release and also the marketing strategy has helped to create lot of buzz.
However, it is still doubtful whether it will break the opening day record of Salman's last year Eid release "Ek Tha tiger" which holds the record of highest first day collection with ₹32.92 crore.
"Ek Tha Tiger" was released across 3300, which was the first biggest release ever for a Hindi film. The increase in the ticket price also helped Salman film's to earn the whopping ₹32 crore on the first day.
However, Rohit Shetty's directorial, "Chennai Express" is also set for one of the widest releases in India. The makers of the film have decided to release in 3500 screens in Indian market. Salman's "Dabangg 2" holds the record of highest release ever with 3700 screens.
Last week, there were reports stating that multiplexes have decided to hike the ticket price by 40 percent for SRK-Deepika starrer.
The hiked price would mean that movie goers would have to spend an extra 40 percent during the weekdays and 20 percent over the weekend. However, the hiked price is not applicable for all multiplexes, reported The Times of India.
Despite the hiked price, the advance booking of "Chennai Express" is said to be encouraging. According to reports, major circuits like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, UP and Gujarat received an advance booking of almost 30-40 percent for the first weekend, and the tickets are selling fast.
Last two weeks have been dull with films like "Luv U Soniyo", "Rabba Main Kya Karoon", "Bajatey Raho", "Nasha" and "B. A. Pass" failing to entertain the audience. Even "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" has almost completed its four weeks run at the theatres. So, "Chennai Express", which is also a solo release, has good chance of making good business in the first week.
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