The top theatre operators said that the number of shows had gone up by three times within three days of the release and that the movie managed a rare feat—attracting more crowds on a Monday than Sunday.
One million tickets were sold on BookMyShow for the opening weekend alone, with over 90% of the shows running housefull.
“This incredible initial response to the film has led more cinemas across the country to add shows and screens for ‘The Kashmir Files’ leading to a massive 3.2X growth in the number of screens made available for the movie in just the first week of its release. Audiences across Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Surat and Vadodara have been amongst the first to rush to theatres to catch the film on the silver screen, “said Ashish Saksena, COO – Cinemas, BookMyShow.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met the team of the movie ‘The Kashmir Files’ in the national capital on Saturday.
Many BJP-ruled states have declared the movie tax-free, with many politicians tweeting in support of the movie.
“The movie admits it has surpassed all other films that are currently playing at the cinemas. In the first weekend of release, The Kashmir Files has had phenomenal occupancy of 90%+. We have released it in all our theatres, however, the number of shows per property has steadily increased during the weekend, “said Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures Ltd.
According to INOX, they have increased the show from 300 on Friday to 1200 on Monday, and this weekend was the best for them in two years.
“While on Friday the occupancy for the movie was 60%, it increased to 88% on Sunday. Most of the shows running now are housefull. However, some are coming to watch other movies as well, and signs of recovery were visible two weeks ago when Hindi movies started releasing, “said Rajender Singh Jyala, Chief Programming Officer – INOX Leisure Ltd.
Zee Studios, which produced the movie, tweeted on Sunday that the movie had done business of Rs 31.6 crore in the first three days.
“‘The Kashmir Files’ had an extensive release worldwide on over 2700 screens, after an initial opening on 600 screens. The ease in Covid-19 restrictions has further boosted the footfall in cinemas, and we are seeing shows running at full capacity across the country. With the number of screens increasing each day, we expect ‘The Kashmir Files’ to be one of the biggest hits of recent times, “said Shariq Patel, Chief Business Officer, Zee Studios.
The film started out with decent advance sales for the first day, and ticket sales for each day have been better than the previous day since Friday.
“On Monday, we have already sold more tickets in advance than we sold all day on Saturday. Strong word of mouth acting as a steady catalyst has once again proven that compelling content in the market will always have immense demand when it comes to theatrical screenings, underscoring the importance of theatrical releases yet again, post the pandemic blip, “said Ashish Saksena, COO – Cinemas, BookMyShow.
