Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham which is touted as the most-awaited movie of the year will release on 3,300 screens. The teaser of the much awaited film was also released on social media.
As per the contracts between the makers and the theatre owners, the movie is expected to rake in at least Rs 50 crore on the first day itself. This is hailed as one of the biggest business deals in the history of Malayalam cinema.
In Kerala, Marakkar would hit 600 screens. Meanwhile, it would be released on around 1,200 screens in various parts of India. The makers have reached agreements with 1,500 screens outside India until Tuesday and this could even go up to 1,800 screens.
The movie would be released in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada languages too.
The foreign contracts would be finalised only after 30 November. The movie could be released in up to 1,800 screens overseas.
In Kerala six shows daily are planned in most theatres though a few may have one more.
The first show is slated to begin at 12 am on December 2. The movie would start at the same time in Dubai theatres too.
On the first day, there would be 12,700 shows across 3,300 screens. Even if there are only four shows, more than 25 lakh people are expected to watch the movie on the first day itself. It is estimated that at least Rs 200 could be collected from a single ticket. This has been calculated after considering the highest exchange rate of foreign currencies. Thus, the movie is expected to collect Rs 50 crore on the first day of release.
One of the major characters in the film has a Chinese background and to tap this the movie will be promoted in regions where there is Chinese-speaking population. The Chinese remake of the blockbuster movie Drishyam was one of the highest grossing movies in that country before the COVID-19 outbreak, collecting the equivalent of around Rs 1,300 crore. Interestingly, Mohanlal had attracted great media attention in China at that time.
The makers of Marakkar hope that the movie could cash in on the screen icon’s popularity in foreign lands too.