The huge hype surrounding Salman Khan's "Sultan" predicts that the Eid release will rewrite history at the worldwide box office and thus filmmakers are postponing their film releases. The pre-release report of Salman's "Sultan" is positive around the world, including Pakistan.
After creating a storm in India, the "Sultan" mania has hit the peak at the ticket windows in Pakistan. In Pakistan, local filmmakers have postponed their film's release, as "Sultan" is gaining more attraction at the ticket window after several trade experts declared Salman's film a blockbuster hit.
It is being reported that "Sultan" will be the most profitable film this year during the Eid al-Fitr 2016 holiday in Pakistan. And now expectations are high how "Sultan" might shatter the records of Pakistan's biggest grosser ever "Jawani Phir Nahi Ani" (JPNA), which was released in 2015.
The comedy drama "Jawani Phir Nahi Ani" earned Rs. 74.5 million in its opening weekend during Eid and took the lifetime earnings to Rs. 465 million, according to the Express Tribune.
"We are hoping it will. It's clear that there is no major competition. We are expecting it will earn, at least, if not more than, Rs70-75 million during Eid holidays," Representative of Geo films Mohammad Nasir, official distributors of "Sultan" in Pakistan, told the daily.
Film exhibitor Nadeem Mandviwala revealed that more than 80 percent of "Sultan" opening day ticket has already been sold out. Marketing manager for Cinepax, the largest cinema chain in Pakistan, told the daily that the 80 percent of 350 shows in the cinema chain has already been sold out.
"I don't know whether it will break JPNA's record. The thing is Indian films get pirated a lot and are played on TV cable channels so the business usually drops in a few days. I'm estimating it will collect about Rs70-75 million in the first five days," Mohsin Yaseen of Cinepax said. "Rest assured, it will be the biggest release of 2016."
It looks like, Salman is all set to rewrite history at the box office with his Eid release "Sultan." Ali Abbas Zafar's directorial "Sultan," also starring Anushka Sharma, Amit Sadh and Randeep Hooda, is slated for July 6 release in India and Pakistan.