It's Hrithik versus Akshay Kumar this long weekend

While the two films are releasing with a conservative screen count, analysts are hoping that both Mohenjo Daro and Rustom do well

As is the norm around extended weekends, movie halls in India hope to run to packed houses with not one, but two big ticket releases - Akshay Kumar-starrer Rustom and Hrithik Roshan-starrer Mohenjo Daro. 

Produced by Disney India, Mohenjo Daro is set in the Indus Valley era, and stars Pooja Hegde as the female lead and Kabir Bedi, Suhasini Mular and Arunoday Singh in the supporting cast. Rustom, a Plan C production in association with Zee, is a crime thriller based on a real life incident around a naval officer accused of murder in the 1950s.

Two big films releasing on the same day means one of both can be negatively affected. The strategy applied by the studios on both sides however indicate that the films will not 'cannibalise' each other's business prospects.Rustom and Mohenjo Daro are releasing in 2,500 and 2,200 screens respectively. A limited screen presence not only cuts down costs, but also ensures neither film is losing out on screens/shows.

Last year, while Shah Rukh Khan's Dilwale outdid Bajirao Mastani in the opening weekend, the Sanjay Leela Bhansali historical romance proved to have longer legs at the box office, and a better lifetime collection.

"Rustom seems to have an edge over Mohenjo Daro and the film has been showing an upward trend since its trailer launch. The market is abuzz with anticipation for the film. On the contrary Mohenjo Daro has had mixed response on trailer. The film has music from A R Rehman has also now hit the chord with the audience. The last leg of the film's promotional campaign indicates a decent-to-good opening," says Suniel Wadhwa, independent distributor and trade analyst.

Kumar is on a winning streak having delivered successful films like Holiday, Baby and Airlift over the past two years. This is Roshan's first film after 2014's Bang Bang.

The marketing for both the films has been fairly aggressive. "Rustom is such an exciting film, but it did come with its set of challenges. With Akshay's recent winning streak the pressure to succeed was even higher. Recently Akshay has owned the patriotic space, and that's something we leveraged on. We started the campaign before Housefull 3 and right after Airlift, so people would associate Rustom with it," says Devika Shroff, founder, film marketing firm Spot On Marketing.

Profitability also seems easier for Rustom since the film has been made at approximately Rs 55 crore, while Mohenjo Daro has cost nearly Rs 90 crore. Analysts believe it's anyone's game in the opening weekend. In terms of ancillary revenues Rustom's music and satellite rights have been retained by the Zee network at an estimated transfer pricing of Rs 27 crore. Media reports suggest that satellite and music rights revenue for Mohenjo Daro is in the range of Rs 50 crore.