Salaar vs Dunki: Who lost in box office game?

The biggest clash of the year took place this week as Dunki was released in cinemas on December 21 while Salaar arrived in cinemas today, that is, December 22. It’s common for show-sharing problems to take place when two big movies collide at the ticket window. But the problems that cropped up with these two films are unprecedented. 

We had already reported that the Salaar makers had decided to pull their film from PVR Inox and Miraj properties in the South after they accused the multiplex chains of unfair trade practice. A few hours later, thanks to the impact of the article, all parties renegotiated the deal. It was expected that show-sharing would take place. Alas, it hasn’t happened. Instead, exhibitors were asked to play either of the two films. As a result, some opted for Dunki while others decided to play Salaar.

Reportedly, Mumbai’s single-screen cinema halls learned that none of them are sharing shows. The theatres playing Dunki are PVR Le Reve Bandra, MovieTime Star City, Ajanta Cinema Cinex Borivali, Kasturba Malad, Gold Dadar, Roxy, Inox Thakur Movie, MovieMax Andheri East, MovieMax Goregaon West, Chitra, Regal and Bahar. On the other hand, Maratha Mandir, Citylight, Inox Nakshatra Dadar, Mukta A2 Orion Santa Cruz, Premier Gold, Plaza, Paradise, Gold Thane, Gold Borivali, K T Vision Vasai, Anand Cinema Thane, Movie Time Dahisar, New Excelsior, Movie Time Suburbia and MovieMax Kandivali have opted for Salaar.

A similar scenario was seen across most centres in India. Surprisingly,  Gopi Cinema in Dombivali has shunned both the films. Instead, it is playing two shows of Animal and two shows of the Marathi film Jhimma 2. An exhibition source openly expressed that  “The team of Salaar were okay with sharing shows. But the distributors of Dunki were clear – you have to screen all shows of their film and not a single show can be given to Salaar. Hence, exhibitors had no choice but to opt for one film.

The single-screen exhibitor from North India spoke on the condition of anonymity, “I am screening Dunki and it’s doing well. But I wish I could have played Salaar. I have been getting so many enquiries since yesterday. It’s a film that suits the taste of my target audience. When Gadar 2 and OMG 2 clashed and shared shows peacefully, the same could have been done for Dunki and Salaar as well.” expressed an exhibitor his opinion.