A big breaking announcement which everyone has been waiting for has been made. Prabhas’ hugely awaited Salaar is releasing on December 22, 2023. Exhibitors all across the country have received an email from Salaar distributors about the new release date.
Bollywood Baadshah Shah Rukh Khan is also coming up with his much-awaited Dunki on the same date which is directed by blockbuster director Rajkumar Hirani.
The decision to release Salaar on December 22 seems to have been made to cash in on the Christmas and New Year holidays. But Dunki is also a very big film which will definitely dent its business mostly in the Hindi belts and overseas.
Salaar is a front-loaded film while Dunki is expected to be a lambi race ka ghoda which will have a long run based on its content.
While in the South, Salaar will be a horse race, it might lose a significant number of screens and shows in the North due to Dunki.
SRK’s film was announced long back and it will be distributed by a prominent distribution house. In a normal scenario, Salaar would have gotten 5,000 screens but because of the clash with Dunki, it might lose half of them.
Shah Rukh Khan is in his peak form after Pathaan and Jawan and even in South, Salaar shows and screens might get reduced because Dunki will also be given a fair chance, though Salaar will dominate big time.
Hollywood’s Aquaman is also releasing around the same date which will also affect Salaar’s collections to some extent.
Overall, Salaar is one of Prabhas’ most promising films after Baahubali 2. In the recent past, Prabhas’ films have always been only about the first weekend. After the initial sizzle, they have fizzled out. This time the content needs to support the film to survive in a clash with an SRK- Raju Hirani film.
Releasing Salaar on December 22 will definitely reduce its box office potential. It would be better if the makers try to work out some other date where it can have a free run for a few weeks.
