'Sitaare Zameen Par' records ₹7cr advance bookings; eyes slow opening
What's the story
Aamir Khan's latest film, Sitaare Zameen Par, is set for a subdued opening with advance bookings standing at around ₹6.88 crore for its first day, reported Sacnilk.
Despite the slow start, industry experts are hopeful that positive word-of-mouth will boost its performance in the coming days, just like Taare Zameen Par did years ago.
At the time of writing, the film has collected ₹0.3 crore on Day 1.
Advance bookings
How many tickets were sold across India?
The film has sold over 1.15L tickets across 9,542 shows nationwide, per Sacnilk.
The Hindi version has contributed the most to the earnings with ₹3.18cr from 9,037 shows and over 1L tickets sold.
The Tamil version added ₹2.73L from 163 shows while the Telugu version brought in ₹9.84L from 342 shows.
These figures include revenue from blocked seats as well, taking the total to ₹6.88cr for advance bookings alone!
Release strategy
Staggered shows on release day
In an unexpected move, the makers of Sitaare Zameen Par have opted for a staggered show format on release day.
A revised communication sent to exhibitors earlier this week has laid down strict scheduling restrictions for Friday.
No shows are to be screened before 11:00am and theaters can have a maximum of four screenings between 11:00am and 6:00pm.
After 6:00pm, normal screening schedules may resume, but these guidelines are only applicable for the release day.
Box office comparison
Comparisons with Khan's other films
Despite the strategic release format, Sitaare Zameen Par's day-one earnings are among Khan's lower openers in recent years.
While Laal Singh Chaddha opened at ₹11.7cr despite mixed reviews, Sitaare Zameen Par is likely to stay below ₹8cr on its opening day, even with late-hour screenings.
In comparison, Taare Zameen Par opened at ₹2.62cr but became a sleeper hit through strong word-of-mouth and critical acclaim.
Whether Sitaare Zameen Par can replicate this success remains to be seen.