This year, two films will be released on Diwali, Thamma and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat. Neither of them has the big tentpole-like aura that is usually associated with a major festival date like Diwali. In themselves, the two films may not be that different, but each has a factor that boosts it. For Thamma, it’s the IP branding that gives it wide visibility, while for Deewaniyat, it’s the music.
Thamma Maddock is the fifth film in the horror comedy universe, whose previous two releases last year were huge successes, including the record-grossing film Stree 2. Given the success of Universe and the historical track record of comedies on Diwali, there were naturally high expectations for the film. However, these expectations do not seem to be living up to reality, at least as far as progress is concerned.
At the time of writing, Thamma has sold around 60K tickets on the first day across PVRINOX and Cinepolis (PIC). By the end of the day, it should reach around 80K. The situation outside these chains is even slower. Still, this is not necessarily worrisome, as progress may be slow during the period leading up to Diwali, and what really matters is what happens on release day in the current sales. The films which had negligible progress the day after Diwali performed much better that day.
Even with these advances, Thamma could easily earn Rs. Could deposit. More than 200 million days, possibly even more. The film has a huge potential to collect. If the film is successful in getting the reception from the audience, it could do well for itself.
Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat is a love story with hit music but it has no face value or big production. Normally, this would have been dismissed as a “B-movie”, but something happened earlier this year that has turned it into a potential dark horse. It was a blockbuster response to the re-release of ‘Sanam Teri Kasam’ starring the forgotten flop ‘Deewaniyat’ of almost a decade ago. Soon after, another love story with no expectations or face value, Saira surprised everyone with her blockbuster global performance.
Deewaniyat is attracting the audience just like both those films and it also has hit music. This has given hope to Diwaniyat and this progress reflects that optimism. At the time of writing, the film has sold around 25K tickets on PIC and will likely close around 35K. Like Sanam Teri Kasam, the film is getting better popularity in smaller centres, with many centers getting similar sales to Thamma, some even better.
Unfortunately for the film, it doesn’t have the performance it would have needed in a single screen. It has about 30% of Thamma’s run in the plexes, which is fine, but it has been largely wiped out from the single screens in most centres, and these could have been cobbled together for the film. In the end, the film probably could have done better with a single non-holiday release, because releasing those singles isn’t worth the promotion it gets for Diwali.
While Deewaniyat seems to be carrying its weight, Thamma is a big film with a high ceiling. To really light up the box office this Diwali, Thamma will have to deliver a strong performance. It’s been a quiet year for the industry, with previous big successes feeling like a distant memory. The hope will be that the situation changes a bit on Diwali. The most important thing for this will be that both these films will not get the initial appreciation.
Also read: Kantara Chapter 1 Box Office: Rishabh Shetty starrer Battle in Pre-Diwali 3rd weekend, close to 600 crores in India
