Junior NTR's "Janatha Garage" may have created a lot of positive buzz around it, but the signs for its release do not seem too good. The Bharath bandh on Sept. 2 and heavy rains in South India are likely to affect its collection at the box office in its first weekend.
"Janatha Garage" is releasing in India on Sept. 1, while it will have its premiere in several foreign countries a day before. The stage is set for its grand release, but the movie is likely to suffer from the strike called by the central trade unions on Friday, Sept. 2. Banks, government offices and factories, malls and cinema halls are likely to be shut and it is set to take a toll on the business of the Junior NTR-starrer.
Also rains have intensified in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu along with parts adjoining Telangana. The condition is expected remain the same as per the weatherman. Hence, doubts over the prospects of "Janatha Garage" at the collection centres have loomed large among the trade experts.
The opening weekend collection plays a crucial role in a film's success at the box office. Especially for the producers, the business in the first few days is crucial as they get the major share of its business during this time. Post first weekend, exhibitors will have the larger part.
Exhibitors and distributors were set to organise special early morning shows for fans on Sept. 1 but there is a possibility of its cancellation due to rains, says one report. As a result, the business of "Janatha Garage" might be affected to some extent.
The Telugu movie will reportedly release in over 1100 screens in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, close to 200 screens in Karnataka, above 200 in Kerala and over 100 in rest of India.
The movie has been made on a whopping budget of over Rs. 40 crore and the southern theatrical rights of the film have been sold for over Rs. 45 crore to the distributors. The movie was expected to recover more than 70 percent of this investment in its opening weekend, but this is now doubtful due to the bad weather and Bharat Bandh.
"Janatha Garage" is written and directed by Koratala Siva and jointly produced by Naveen Yerneni, Y Ravi Shankar and CV Mohan. It has been simultaneously shot in Telugu and Malayalam languages.
Mohanlal plays the key role in the film, which has Samantha and Nithya Menen playing female leads. "Janatha Garage" has Devi Sri Prasad's music, Tirru's cinematography and Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao's editing.