National Cinema Day: Chup regers second-biggest advance sales of any Hindi film this year, outperforms Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Gangubai Kathiawadi
Director R Balki’s lowkey thriller Chup: Revenge of the Art has outperformed major titles such as Laal Singh Chaddha, JugJugg Jeeyo and the Hindi version of RRR in advance ticket sales. The film’s release is coinciding with the National Cinema Day on Friday, when tickets are being sold across the country for Rs 75. The discounted prices are fuelling a record turnout in theatres, which have been struggling year-round with a series of major flops.
Starring Dulquer Salmaan, Sunny Deol and Shreya Dhanwanthary, Chup has pre-sold 1.3 lakh tickets in the three national chains. comparison, 83 pre-sold 1.17 lakh tickets, JugJugg Jeeyo pre-sold 57,000 tickets, and the Hindi version of RRR pre-sold 1.05 lakh tickets. Chup has also outperformed the likes of Gangubai Kahiawadi, Samrat Prithviraj and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, all with an A rating. The experiment of sorts has indicated that inflated ticket prices are a major reason behind audiences’ hesitation to watch films on the big screen.
Director Ayan Mukerji’s fantasy drama Brahmastra is also benefitting from the discounted prices. The film shattered 2022 records with nearly six lakh advance bookings for National Cinema Day. comparison, all-time hits such as KGF: Chapter 2 and Baahubali 2 pre-sold 5.15 lakh and 6.5 lakh tickets. Shows are being sold out.
Chup was initially supposed to be released in around 600 theatres, which was increased to 800 theatres considering the demand. Brahmastra, comparison, was released in around 5000 theatres on opening day. Chup’s advance sales, in fact, are higher than any other Hindi film this year, besides only Brahmastra, which pre-sold around three lakh tickets in the top three chains for opening day.
