'83' movie looks poised to be this year's biggest blockbuster

The film which trade analysts expect to be the biggest blockbuster of 2021 is hitting a total of over 5,512 screens and distributors are still in talks for 83 to be released in many more.

On Thursday, 83 was released globally on 1,512 screens in 80 countries. On Friday, it will be shown on 4,000 screens across India in five languages which include Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, both 2D and 3D.

The numbers add up to a gigantic release, despite the spectre of a third wave looming and many states planning to reimpose capacity restrictions.  

While last-minute negotiations are on to sign up yet more screens, particularly as Spiderman and Pushpa (which did business of over Rs 150 crore in five days at the box office) have done well in their first week, 83 is already a much bigger release than Sooryavanshi which was shown on 3,519 screens earlier this year.    

In terms of the overseas market, 83 is going to have the widest global release of any Bollywood movie ever, overtaking the record set by Sooryavanshi starring Akshay Kumar.

Sooryavanshi was the first big movie released in 2021 after cinemas re-opened in Maharashtra and Mumbai, with 50 per cent capacity after being closed for months. The movie was screened in 66 countries on 1,300 screens.        

Conceived four years ago, 83 was meant to be released earlier, in April 2020. Starring Ranveer Singh in the role of cricketer and captain Kapil Dev, it tells the journey of the Indian cricket team which was considered an underdog in the tournament but went on to win India’s first World Cup against the favourites, the West Indies, changing the country’s place in cricket history.

The producers, led by Reliance Entertainment, Deepika Padukone and Sajid Nadiadwala, took the difficult decision to hold off on the release instead of selling it on the OTT platform first.

As a result, the movie's budget has shot up to around Rs 270-280 crore owing to interest caused by the delay along with promotion and marketing expenses.

HITTING IT OUT OF THE PARK

• Film to be released on 4,000 screens in India in five languages
• Opened on 1,512 screens in 80 countries on Thursday
• Expected to hit Rs 20-25 crore on the first day at the box office
• Producers hope to hit total box office collection of Rs 250 crore
• Talks on with Netflix and Disney to finalise streaming and TV rights

Former CEO of Reliance Entertainment Shibashish Sarkar has high expectations. “We expect the movie to get box office collections of Rs 20-25 crore on the first day. We also expect to do very well overseas. It is the widest release of a Hindi movie in global markets. The pre-booking response has been good,” he said.

According to sources in the production house, the expectation is that the movie should hit domestic box office collections of around Rs 250 crore, higher than the Rs 196 crore made by Sooryavanshi. They also expect to make overseas box office collections of around Rs 80-100 crore.

Trade analyst Komal Nahta said the domestic box office collection target should be easy. “They had negotiated the streaming rights with Netflix and TV with Disney very early before the pandemic and I am sure they could get 25 per cent more now. Some re-negotiations are being done,” said Nahta.      

This would be the key for the movie’s overall profitability. Trade analysts say the rules of the game for these rights change due to the pandemic. They point out that earlier contracts for the movie to hit OTT platforms was eight weeks after its release in cinemas. But owing to the pandemic, it has now become four weeks, till March 31, 2022. In short, the pricing needs to be negotiated.    

The exhibition industry has been bullish that with a slate of 25 big movies lined up in the next five months with a collective cost tag of Rs 2,000 crore, it will be able to match the box office collections of 2019 (Rs 11,500 crore) in the calendar year 2022.

However, given the capriciousness of Covid-19, analysts say the chance of a third wave could force a reassessment.