Opening of 'Sultan' to get affected as Eid now on Thursday

Superstar Salman Khan's much-awaited "Sultan" which was targeting to get a wide opening on July 6 on the occasion of Eid will perhaps have to face a huge dip on its opening day as the festival will now be celebrated on July 7.

"The opening of 'Sultan' will certainly get affected. Salman's film usually collects maximum on its first three days... now that Eid has moved to Thursday, it is going to affect the business," Manoj Desai, Executive Director of Gaiety Galaxy and Maratha Mandir Cinema told IANS.

"Advance booking has already been done and now I don't know what's going to be the turnout," he added.

Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, "Sultan" will see Salman Khan in the role of a wrestler. The film, produced by Aditya Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner, is slated to release on July 6.

Distributor Rajesh Thadani says: "We were expecting close to Rs 40 crore on its opening day but now I feel the opening would come down to Rs 30 crore. Now, I think 'Sultan' won't get a record breaking opening which we were hoping for the film. The advance booking has been tremendous though."

Distributor Sanjay Ghai from Delhi said: "Yes, the opening will get affected slightly but, they should have released the film on Friday itself and since its Salman's film they would have made a great collection any which way. Releasing it on Wednesday was not a great idea."

--IANS

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