Last week box office saw the clash of two titans- 'Dunki' and 'Salaar: Part 1-Ceasefire'. 'Dunki' marks Shah Rukh Khan and Rajkumar Hirani's first film together while 'Salaar' is also 'KGF' director Prashanth Neel's maiden collaboration with Darling star Prabhas. Both films are of different genres. 'Dunki' is a family entertainer, on the other hand, 'Salaar' is an out-and-out actioner. Several trade experts predicted that the former will have a better collection at the box office than the latter. But, as the saying goes, ''Film business is unpredictable'', 'Salaar' broke records by being the first Indian movie of 2023 to have an opening of Rs 95 crore net in India in all languages. 'Dunki' not even minted Rs 30 crore on Day 1.
We spoke to a couple of trade experts on how 'Dunki and 'Salaar' are expected to perform in the coming weekend which is the New Year weekend.
Producer and film trade expert Girish Johar said, "First of all I don't want to compare both the films. They are completely different films. As a fellow fraternity member and an industry analyst, it is like apple vs orange. The cost of an apple is way different than the cost of an orange. Similarly, Dunki and Salaar, cost-wise are completely different films. 'Salaar' has multiple languages and has been released in more than 5000-6000 screens while Dunki has been released in around 3000 screens and only in one language. So, it is very naive to compare only box office numbers for these two films because the yardsticks are different completely. Having said that both are released in the same week which is not going down well because at the end of the day, at least in the metro cities, urban cities and the multiplexes, both the movies are vying for attention which is eating up the business. Similarly, in territories like the USA and UK, it's a stronghold for both the stars.''
He added, ''At the end of the day, it's eating up the business of each other. Having said that Salaar has opened to bigger numbers because of size, scale and language and Dunki is relying on word of mouth. So, I am very much clear that we need to give them a couple of days. Word-of-mouth films do take time and they reach a genuine audience''.
''Neither Dunki nor Salaar is a bad film. Whichever the bad film, the audience would have felt, would have crashed the second day. Just that two juggernauts have come together, it's settling down and will take time,'' said Johar.
He also said that both will recover in terms of cost.
Talking about the upcoming collections, the trade expert shared, ''Salaar is an action film and a strong start film. So, I believe that from today onwards it should be Dunki which would be stronger. Word of mouth will help either of these films. If Dunki is generally appreciated by people, then in the second weekend, it will be very strong. If it's not strong, it will not reflect in box office collections.''
Film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi opined, "Both Dunki and Salaar cater to different audiences. Prashanth Neel and Prabhas' films are all about opening. If the opening is big, then the merit of the content takes over. If you look at Rajkumar Hirani's films, they haven't opened to big numbers. His films have seen growth in collection after the release day because of the content and they have sustained for weeks.''
''Both Dunki and Salaar have their own trajectory. We shouldn't compare the movies based on their openings because both films are made for different types of audiences. One is single screens friendly mass entertainer while one is made for the evolved audience. They are doing good business without affecting each other's audiences and it's a good thing,'' he added.
He also thinks that it's important for business because there should always be options for audiences in theatres.
'Dunki' is much behind than 'Salaar' in terms of box office collections. The SRK starrer is yet to cross the Rs 150 mark while Prabhas' film has already crossed the Rs 250 mark in India. On this, Rathi said, ''Salaar was a big opening and Dunki was a word-of-mouth sale. The long-time business of Dunki and Salaar will matter eventually and not the opening day collections. One might do less than the other but they will do a good business at the box office''.
When asked about the collection both are likely to make, Rathi said, ''It's very difficult to predict. I think in the coming weekend both will sustain''.
''Salaar will lead in the coming weekend because people don't want to watch common subjects and 'Dunki' has the common subject,'' said film exhibitor Lokendra Jain.
However, he said that this weekend would be good for both movies. ''After January 1, the collection of 'Dunki' will be null and void. Today, the collections of 'Dunki' and 'Salaar' will see a drop,'' he added.
