'Shaitaan' is all set to hit the screens this Friday on March 8. The film stars Ajay Devgn, R Madhavan and Jyotika. The film has been creating all the right buzz. Ahead of its release, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has granted the U/A to the film with a few changes. Reportedly, the horror thriller has received four modifications and one cut. 'Shaitaan' is a remake of the Gujarati film titled Vash. As the buzz is positive and a horror film with a great cast is coming after a while, there is a curiosity as how much 'Shaitaan' will collect on day 1 of its release.
Producer and film business expert, Girish Johar said, ''The awareness of the film is very exciting. After a long while a horror thriller with a great cast is coming to theatres. Three of them have their own fan following. The good part of the film is that the tone is in the horror zone but it also targets the family audiences. It has got an U/A certificate, so, a larger audience can watch it. The brilliant part is that with the trailer, they created awareness and people really liked it, especially the interactions between Ajay and Madhavan''.
He added, ''I think people are excited to watch the film and I am expecting a good start at the box office'' and continued, ''The horror genre has one of the highest returns on investment both in India as well as in Hollywood. The last horror film which worked well at the box office was Vikram Bhatt's 1920. Now, Shaitaan is a full-blown commercial entertainer.
As per industry tracker Sacnilk, it has already got 4554 shows and has sold nearly 28000 tickets minting about Rs 66 lakhs for day 1. On this, Johar said, ''These are all dynamic numbers. We all know the box office is very dynamic. It depends largely on word of mouth and the audience.''
Johar has pegged the first-day box office collection of 'Shaitaan' at Rs 8-10 crore. ''I am hoping for a good start. I would be very happy if the film opens to Rs 8-10 crore mark. As a range, it will be a fantastic start. If the audience likes it depending on word of mouth like the evening shows and everything...also there is a partial holiday on March 8, which is Maha Shivratri. So, that benefit will also be there. But, if it is not liked by the audience, the collection will come down for sure,'' he said.
