Independence Day releases: 'Stree 2' pegged to be favourite; 'Vedaa', 'Khel Khel Mein' follow close

New Delhi: It is going to be a long and crowded weekend for Hindi cinema with three major releases set to open on the Independence Day and experts hope it helps "Stree 2", "Vedaa" and "Khel Khel Mein" do good business at the box office, with fears of affecting each other's collections notwithstanding.

"Stree 2" is the much awaited sequel to the 2018 hit horror comedy "Stree", starring Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor and Pankaj Tripathi, while "Vedaa" features John Abraham and Sharvari.

Superstar Akshay Kumar, who has often released patriotic and social dramas on August 15, an important date in the industry calendar for movie releases, is coming to theatres with thriller comedy "Khel Khel Mein".

All these movies are vying for the audience's attention on a five-day weekend, as August 19 will be celebrated as Raksha Bandhan, but "Stree 2" seems to be a clear favourite to open well, according to trade experts.

"As a viewer, my first choice without doubt would be 'Stree 2'. I loved the first part and I'm really looking forward to the second part. The film is looking good. My second choice is going to be 'Vedaa', the trailer really hooked me on. The film has a very strong emotional current.

"My third would be 'Khel Khel Mein' (remake of 2016 Italian film 'Perfect Strangers'). I want to see how they have Indianised the film. These three films are going to be leading by a distance. They will also be getting more screens and shows," trade expert Taran Adarsh told PTI.

He hopes the Independence Day weekend would be a better one than Eid when two big Hindi titles "Bade Miyan Chote Miyan" and "Maidaan" performed below expectations at the box office.

Senior distributor and exhibitor Raj Bansal, who has been in the distribution business for almost six decades, is also confident that "Stree 2" will outperform "Vedaa" and "Khel Khel Mein" at the box office.

Bansal said that "Stree 2" will open at Rs 18-20 crore, while the combined opening of "Vedaa" and "Khel Khel Mein" would be at Rs 8-10 crore.

"'Stree 2' will be the hot pick of the audience, the first part did exceedingly well at the box office and there's growing anticipation for the second part. This year, we've seen horror-comedy films do very well ('Munjya'). Looking at all these factors, it seems 'Stree 2' will have a big opening," he told PTI.

According to Kamal Gianchandani, CEO of PVR INOX Pictures Limited and president of Multiplex Association of India (MAI), each of the releases are going to benefit from the long weekend from August 15 to August 19.

"We expect this week to be a robust one," he said.

Tamil period action drama "Thangalaan", directed by Pa Ranjith and starring Vikram, and Puri Jagannadh's "Double iSmart", a Telugu sci-fi film featuring Ram Pothineni, are also expected to do well.

"These films come from reputable names, they look great as well. Let's see how they unfold at the time of release," Adarsh added.

Bansal, however, is worried that multiple releases may end up affecting each other's business.

"Whenever there's a clash between two or three films, the industry suffers loss. This time the loss will be around 20 to 25 per cent," he said.

Ajay Bagdai, a distributor from Gujarat's Rajkot, predicted "Stree 2" will draw more audience to theatres and will do business of Rs 12-15 crore on day one.

"There's more buzz for 'Stree 2' since it's a franchise film, and the first part was a hit. 'Khel Khel Mein' might do well in metros. 'Vedaa' is an action film, so it might work in some centres," Bagdai told PTI.

Amit Sharma, MD, Miraj Entertainment Limited, said when more films release on the same day an average movie ends up eating screen space, which isn't a good sign for the business.

"Three films coming on the same day which have fantastic star cast on August 15 holiday, it's going to harm each other's business," Sharma said.

Bagdai echoed similar sentiments.

"For single screen theatres it's difficult to decide which film to screen and when, while multiplexes can screen films in many screens.

"Besides, when more films release the number of screens gets divided. Instead of releasing films on the same day the makers should've released one film every week, then the films would've got more screens," he said.

Multiple releases on a national holiday or festival is a "great idea" but not at the cost of business, Sharma added.

Distributor Sunny Chandiramani, who runs 25 screens across Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, revealed that distributors have "demanded" exhibitors to allot more screening space for "Stree 2".

"The distributor has demanded 70 per cent of the screen for 'Stree 2', 'Vedaa' is demanding 50 per cent, 'Khel Khel Mein' is asking for 40 to 50 per cent screenings in all cities. They are all going for wide release," Chandiramani told PTI.

Political comedy drama "Raghu Thatha", starring Keerthy Suresh, and "Mr Bachchan", starring Ravi Teja, will also release on August 15.