Superstar Rajinikanth's "Kabali" is set to release in over 500 screens in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (AP/T) on July 22. The movie has got superb advance booking in the theatres across the states.
As per newspaper ads, "Kabali" will be released in 190 cinema halls in Nizam area. The audience can book tickets for the movie for over 135 shows in 45 theatres in Hyderabad on its opening day, according to BookMyShow. The tickets for over 50 shows have already been completely sold out. Other shows have registered an average of 70 percent sale of tickets and remaining tickets are likely to be sold out by the time the film hits the screens.
"Kabali" is being released in 60 screens in Vizag region. Five theatres in Vizag city have opened the advance booking for 20 shows on the opening day and all the tickets have already been sold out. The movie has recorded good amount of booking for Saturday and Sunday.
As per newspaper ads, the Rajinikanth starrer will be released in over 250 screens in Krishna, Guntur, Ceeded, Nellore, Godavari East and West. Some theatre owners have opened booking in these areas and the film has registered an average of 50 percent of ticket booking for its opening day. It will go up as the film nears its release in theatres.
The numbers show that the screen count and advance booking for "Kabali" is on par with any other Telugu superstar's movie in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Trade Pandits in film nagar predict that the movie would get an earth-shattering opening. "Sea of Red all over the Booking Sites!. #Kabali eyeing a Record Opening Day," tweets an expert from the industry.
The theatrical rights of "Kabali" were in great demand and a leading distribution house has acquired rights for a whopping Rs 32 crore. The distributor has made grand plans to cash in on the craze for Rajini in these states. He hopes that the movie will be a huge success at the AP/T box office and beat all the records of Rajinikanth's previous releases.
Rajinikanth's last outing, "Linga," was a disaster at the AP/T box office and the superstar is yet to compensate the losses for its distributor, as per the agreement. The distributor has threatened to stall the release of "Kabali" in these states. The producers' council is in talks with both Rajini and the "Linga" distributor. It is not clear yet whether the issue has been sorted out.