The last big Hollywood film of the year, Mufasa: The Lion King, will be released in cinemas tomorrow, December 20. A lot of expectations are riding on it and though the advances are slow, the film is expected to fetch a good opening at the box office.
As per the data available with Bollywood Hungama, as of Thursday, December 19, 11:00 am, the film has sold 35,000 tickets in PVR, Inox and Cinepolis. The silver lining is that the tickets are consistently getting sold with every passing hour. Moreover, spot bookings are also expected big time tomorrow once the film releases.
There are many factors that also go in favour of Mufasa: The Lion King. It is released in the lucrative Christmas period. A multiplex manager told us, “The film will benefit on Christmas Eve on Tuesday, December 24. It is as big as a holiday. Christmas on Wednesday will also be huge. Similarly, next week, the film will have a benefit on Tuesday, December 31, a part holiday-of-sorts followed by the big holiday on Wednesday, January 1.”
The source continued, “The last film in this series, The Lion King (2019), used to do big business on weekends as it’s a true-blue family entertainer. Also, the voiceover by Shah Rukh Khan in the Hindi version and Mahesh Babu in the Telugu version coupled with the popularity of the franchise will lead to healthy ticket sales.” In fact, theatres in Andhra Pradesh-Telangana belt have already started putting up large cut-outs of Mahesh Babu outside theatres screening Mufasa: The Lion King.
The Lion King opened at Rs. 11.06 crores and then jumped to Rs. 19.15 crores on its second day. On its third day, the film earned Rs. 24.54 crores which was more than double the Friday collections. The trade expects Mufasa: The Lion King to also open in the same range as its predecessor.
A few challenges, however, still remain – Pushpa 2 – The Rule continues to attract viewers in hordes. Secondly, Baby John releases on Wednesday, December 25. However, as it is often seen in the past, a grand cinematic film with positive word of mouth can work, come what may. Hence, a thumbs up from the audience is all that Mufasa: The Lion King needs to succeed at the ticket window.
