Mumbai: Rang De Basanti can't wait till Friday for release. In keeping with the trend of releasing films around big national holidays in order to make the maximum out of opening weekends, the Amir Khan-starer opened nationwide on Thursday instead of the conventional Friday release.
The national premiere of the film took place at Cinemax in Mumbai on Wednesday.
"The long weekend is a boost and we take advantage of the holiday period," director of the film Rakeysh Mehra said.
"If its gets a good opening which is between 80 to 90 per cent then I could recover my entire costs," Sanjeev Mehta, VP Distribution, UTV said.
In the West, the Hollywood studios especially schedule their big-budget summer blockbusters for the July 4 weekend, which often spreads over three or four days.
Hollywood's tried and tested formula is fast catching on in India. Last November, there were three releases on Diwali - Garam Masala, Kyon Ki and Shaadi No. 1 and they all opened on a Wednesday.
Two weeks ago, to cash in on the Eid holiday, Zinda and Family opened on Thursday.
Meanwhile, this week, along with Rang De Basanti, the Hollywood film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe will also check into cinemas on Thursday.
With an estimated production and marketing budget of $250 million, the first Narnia film is a must-win movie for the loss-making Disney Studios, and paves the way for up to six more films based on C S Lewis' seven-book series.
In the battle of the fantasy film franchise, Disney's first Narnia installment aims to match the huge success of the four Harry Potter movies and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Clearly, the mantra seems to be - the longer the weekend, the more loaded the coffers.
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