Advance bookings: Shah Rukh's 'Dunki' takes lead over Prabhas's 'Salaar'
What's the story
As the countdown begins for the release of Shah Rukh Khan's Dunki and Prabhas's Salaar: Part 1-Ceasefire, both films are set to battle it out at the box office.
The competition is heating up with Dunki releasing on Thursday and Salaar on Friday.
Salaar is reportedly leading in advance bookings in the US, selling over $9,24,000 worth of tickets for its premiere day, while Dunki trails behind at $1,81,000.
Here's a breakdown of the Indian box office numbers.
Collections
Advance booking numbers indicate a close competition
In India, Dunki has sold approximately 1.48 lakh tickets, raking in Rs. 4.6 crore, according to Sacnilk.
Salaar, on the other hand, has sold 1.58 lakh tickets, evidently more than Dunki, but has only collected Rs. 3.81 crore in all languages.
This discrepancy could be due to capped ticket prices in South India.
Film trade analyst Ramesh Bala tweeted that even though Dunki isn't a mass action movie, it's impressive to have sold over 100K tickets in advance.
Insights
Here's how 'Dunki' and 'Salaar' are doing for Hindi shows
As mentioned above, for Hindi (2D) shows, Dunki has sold around 1.48 lakh tickets for 6,472 shows on its opening day.
In contrast, the Prabhas-led film has sold more than 19,000 tickets worth Rs. 66 lakh for its Hindi version, including IMAX sales.
The advance booking for the Telugu shows of Salaar has amassed Rs. 2.2 crore from 86,257 tickets.
Strategies
Understanding the promotional strategies of 'Dunki,' 'Salaar'
SRK recently visited Dubai to promote Dunki, discussing the film at Dubai's Global Village.
He said, "This whole film talks about home is where the heart is."
Meanwhile, the makers of Salaar are gearing up to release the film's second trailer on Monday, just three days before its theatrical debut.
The rivalry between these two movies is expected to intensify as their release dates draw nearer.
About the films
Know more about the upcoming films
Helmed by Rajkumar Hirani, Dunki narrates the tale of four friends from a Punjab village with a shared dream of going to England.
In contrast, Prashanth Neel's Salaar delves into the emotional journey of two friends in the fictional Khansaar world.
The Prabhas starrer holds an 'A' (adults only) rating with a runtime of two hours and 55 minutes, while Dunki reportedly has a 'U/A' certificate and a runtime of two hours and 41 minutes.