Brahmāstra hits the advance booking bulls eye but needs word of mouth publicity

• On the basis of strong advance bookings, Elara Capital expects a strong opening with earnings of ₹20-22 crore over the weekend.
• The science-fiction movie has been made at a massive budget of ₹410 crore.
• Over the last few months, multiplexes like PVR and Inox have lost 30-35% of their advertisement business after the dismal performance of the latest Bollywood movies.

With two days to go for its release, the mega budget movie Brahmāstra is off to a flying start, say business analysts. PVR has said that over one lakh tickets have been pre-booked for the coming weekend.

“Finally, some relief for the industry. received #Brahmāstra *day-wise data* (advance booking) of a leading multiplex chain. Observations say that tickets sold are at 11,558 which is a very positive start, since advance opened at select locations only,” tweeted business analyst Taran Adarsh.

On the basis of strong advance bookings, Elara Capital expects a strong opening with earnings of ₹20-22 crore over the weekend. “The lifetime box office (collection) for the film is estimated to be in a wide range of ₹130-200 crore, basis the strong advances,” says a media note by the brokerage firm.

However, the science fiction movie as it’s being called, has been made over a massive budget of ₹410 crore and even if the upper end is breached it will earn only half of what was spent on its making. The movie is bankrolled by Karan Johar owned Dharma Productions along with Starlight Pictures, Prime Focus and Star Studios.

The movie stars Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt and is the first of the franchise of three movies. “Brahmastra is the first sci-fi based Hindi franchise, and augurs well, as audiences want to watch large scale content in cinemas with visual effects. The film has seen strong acceptance/advances in the premium format screens (Imax, 3D etc), given the nature of content,” said Karan Taurani of Elara Capital.

Word-of-mouth publicity
But even for the movie to earn ₹200 crore, it would need a lot of good reviews that would bring the audience to the theatres.

“We believe a positive word of mouth and audience acceptance can help the film breach the upper end. It will be tough to provide any concrete estimates unless we get to know reviews, as most recent estimates have been revised downwards post reviews. Hope it’s the other way round (positive side) for Brahmāstra as it’s a very large franchise movie and Hindi Box Office desperately needs a hit movie,” says Taurani.

However, if the movie turns out to be a hit, it could rake in the moolah for theatre owners who have been hurt by the dismal performance of the much-hyped recent film releases – Liger and Lal Singh Chaddha.

“A film like Brahmāstra can provide support (to) ticket prices and spend-per-head growth too, as the film is available in multiple premium formats – average ticket price and spend per head have been 15-25% higher than pre-Covid levels until last quarter for multiplex chains,” said Taurani.

The movie will be released in 3D, IMAX 3D and 4DX 3D formats across theatres, this Friday. Moreover, since it’s dubbed in multiple languages, it can bring in 15-20% of the business from regional markets too.

Over the last few months, multiplexes like PVR and Inox have lost 30-35% of their advertisement business after the dismal performance of the latest movies.

SEE ALSO: Retail-tech startup Daalchini raises $4 million in a round led by Unicorn India Ventures
Axis Bank, PayNearby partner to take banking to rural and remote areas