Ustaad Should Be Careful With Ticket Hikes!

Amid rumours about Dhurandhar 2 getting postponed, the makers of Pawan Kalyan’s much awaited action thriller Ustaad Bhagat Singh decided to prepone the release date to March 19 to cash in on Ugadhi festival. However, Dhurandhar 2 team made it very clear that there is no change in the release plans.

So, Ustaad Bhagat Singh will face considerable competition at the Tollywood box office even though Dhurandhar 2 is a Bollywood film because there are massive expectations on the sequel among Telugu audiences and also due to the fact that the first part witnessed a phenomenal success despite releasing only in Hindi. 

As Ustaad is carrying decent hype due to the blockbuster combination and also given that Pawan Kalyan carries massive stardom, the openings in both AP and Telangana won’t be affected much because of Dhurandhar 2. Also, due to lack of any other new releases, the film has a good chance to put on a solid show in the opening weekend. But, Ustaad will surely face a big threat from Dhurandhar 2 in Overseas and other South territories. 

Another important factor that will play a significant role in this clash is ticket hikes. Trade analysts feel that Ustaad Bhagat Singh makers should opt for only moderate hikes in the first ten days instead of exorbitant pricing like it was done earlier for big-ticket films, because any unreasonable hike might give advantage to Dhurandhar 2 after the first weekend. 

As family and mass audiences might usually stay away from Dhurandhar 2 due to its genre, Ustaad Bhagat Singh will definitely benefit if it manages to garner good reviews and word of mouth. But, the team should be wary of the ticket prices and make sure that the film takes complete advantage at the box office as Toxic got postponed and there is no other South biggie in the next few weeks. 

Both Pawan Kalyan and Harish Shankar shattered numerous box office records with their previous outing, Gabbar Singh, which released way back in 2012. The scenario is different now. Still, Ustaad Bhagat Singh has a big opportunity to kick start Summer with a bang.