Chennai Express may derail Once upon a Time in Mumbai Dobara

Disney UTV, Red Chillies Entertainment's Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone starrer will complete a week on 15 August

After sorting the issue of releasing their movies on the same day, Disney UTV Studios and Balaji Motion Pictures Ltd (BMPL) now find the prospect of clashing for a different reason: Cinema screens. BMPL, which agreed to postpone the release of its Once upon a Time in Mumbai Dobara (OUATIMD) by a week, now finds it tough to get screens for its premier on August 15.

Disney UTV and Red Chillies Entertainment’s Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone-starrer Chennai Express hit the screens on August 8 and will complete a week on August 15. Deals with cinemas are made on a weekly basis and, hence, BMPL stands to have fewer screens on the release date. Chennai Express is looking at the widest Bollywood release till date, with close to 3,700 screens nationally.

BMPL hoped to cash in on the Independence Day holiday for the first day of Once upon a Time in Mumbai Dobara, but may not succeed in drawing crowds with fewer screens.

“There is a lot of chaos. Most multiplexes are caught in this dilemma of choosing between Chennai Express and OUATIMD for August 15. Both are big-ticket ventures and if Disney UTV doesn’t compromise for August 15, one may see the opening-day collections of the Akshay Kumar-starrer drop below expectations,” said a distributor who did not want to be named.

Some multiplexes have agreed to block only a part of their screens for Chennai Express, while the rest are being used to run less-popular films, which can be taken down on August 15 to accommodate OUATIMD, the sequel to Once Upon a Time in Mumbai.

The two production houses had been warring over the release dates of their movies till a couple of months back. Both the much awaited movies were slated for an August 8 release, but after discussions, BMPL agreed to postpone the release of its gangster drama sequel by a week.