How the G20 summit can affect Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan screening in Delhi | Explained

SRK’s Pathaan gave a new lease of life to Bollywood. It was Shah Rukh Khan’s comeback film and it was a blockbuster. Pathaan was about Bollywood’s victory over all the negativity around #BoycottBollywood. Expectations are high from Jawan too as will release tomorrow. However, the G20 summit in the capital can affect Jawan’s box-office collection.

G20 Summit and Jawan‘s release date

In Delhi, Jawan releases ahead of the G20 Summit on September 9 to10 with several heads of state, including US President Joe Biden, set to attend the event. While the city will remain open during the weekend, restrictions will be imposed on a small part of the NDMC area.

Bijli said he is not worried about the theatrical business taking a hit in central Delhi because of G20 restrictions. It would mean four PVR theatres — PVR Plaza, Rivoli, Odeon and ECX Chanakyapuri — shut during the summit.

Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Executive Director of PVR-INOX Ltd, acknowledged that four PVR theatres — PVR Plaza, Rivoli, Odeon, and ECX Chanakyapuri — would remain shut during the Summit. These are single-screen theatres with a combined capacity of around 2,000 seats. “Out of the 10 lakh capacity on opening day, we’ve sold about 25% of the tickets, which is like 2.5 lakh tickets sold for Thursday across PVR INOX (screens). It is a very big number and early estimates suggest that it can be bigger than Pathaan,” Bijli told PTI.

While the city remains open, but there will be restrictions in certain pockets of NDMC area. With the success of Pathaan, Gadar 2, and OMG 2, the restrictions on Jawan’s screening can dishearten the cinema lovers who were waiting for this SRK’s film. “The situation is crazy across single-screen theatres and multiplexes both. It is difficult to predict the business. It will at least do ₹70 crores on day one (in India),” Mumbai-based trade expert Komal Nahta told PTI.

Mumbai-based trade expert Komal Nahta agreed with Biji’s estimate. “The situation is crazy across single-screen theatres and multiplexes both. It is difficult to predict the business. It will at least do ₹70 crores on day one (in India),” Nahta told PTI.

Jawan‘s record-breaking advance booking

However, online ticket booking platform BookMyShow said Jawan is off to a great start with 750,000 tickets already being booked. Jawan is the first Hindi film to have early morning shows on the day of its release. There are 5 am shows in Kolkata, a 6 am show in Jaipur and tickets are flying off the proverbial shelf.  Jawan is expected to break the opening day figures of his own film Pathaan, with insiders pegging day one earnings at Rs 700 million.

The pan-India thriller also stars Vijay Sethupathi and Nayanthara in key roles. The film, releasing in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, premieres at a time Bollywood theatrical releases — most recent being Gadar 2 and OMG 2 — are raking it in.

(With inputs from PTI)