The superhero movie Brahmastra, which opens in theatres on Friday, is being viewed as a test case for the troubled Bollywood industry as well as Star Studios, which spent more than $300 million to produce it. According to pundits in the film business, Brahmastra is expected to do well, with advance reservations reaching $5 crore as of Sunday.
The success of the films at the box office will also influence Disney India, the producer, would continue to support the local film industry after the epidemic. Given that the movie was released in several languages, industry insiders estimate that the opening day income would be in the range of $20 crore. They claimed that Bollywood needs a significant success story badly in order to stop its losses.
According to film producer and trade and exhibition specialist Girish Johar, “There is definitely enormous faith that Disney has placed in Brahmastra given that advances have been released early and the picture is also being pushed aggressively internationally.” Brahmastra was the first Indian movie to be added to Disney’s announcement of its global theatrical picture slate, which also included high-profile Hollywood films like Avatar: The Way of the Water, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Thor: Love and Thunder.
The first sci-fi-based Hindi film franchise, Brahmastra, “augurs well (for the theatrical sector) since the public wants to watch big-budget entertainment with visual effects in theatres,” Taurani added.
The Baahubali director SS Rajamouli was brought on board for promotions, and Telugu actor Nagarjuna was cast in the movie, which was co-produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.
A former employee of Star Studios who wished to remain anonymous said, “Brahmastra is an old commitment and will decide the way forward for Disney as far as theatrical film production in India.”
