PremiumDasara - Bholaa - Viduthalai: How much impact did IPL 2023 have on the big March releases?
One observes the opening day of IPL 2023, March 31, to have had a considerable impact on the box office
Last Updated: 12.15 PM, Apr 03, 2023
The final weekend of March 2023 turned out a rather eventful one which promised entertainment of varied kinds. On the one hand, we had not one but five different films release in theatres and each film, much to the delight of the moviegoers, boasted some kind of uniqueness.
On the other hand, the much-awaited 16th edition of the Indian Premier League was kicked off on Friday, March 31, amid tremendous fanfare with the biggest players from the men's cricketing world taking centre stage.
A mighty clash, one might say, with India's two most-loved forms of entertainment pitted against one another. With fans of the sport tuning in large numbers to watch the games either at the stadiums or on their respective small screens, one wondered if the massive turnout would bear any impact on the movie box office. With films like Dasara, Bholaa and Pathu Thala looking to make the best use of the extended, four-day weekend, each factor was likely to have a say in their eventual box office performance.
However, it would seem that IPL 2023 is yet to have a considerable impact on the aforementioned films and each of them, somehow, has managed to stay afloat during the weekend.
However, it would seem that IPL 2023 is yet to have a considerable impact on the aforementioned films and each of them, somehow, has managed to stay afloat during the weekend.
Srikanth Odela's Dasara, starring Nani, Keerthi Suresh, Dheekshith Shetty and others, emerged as the clear favourite of the lot on March 30 and continues to be the best-yielding film at the box office. The Telugu film got off to an exceptional start at the domestic box office by collecting over Rs. 23 crores (as per sacnilk.com) but encountered a dip the following day which earned a little less than Rs. 10 crores. One could attribute this to the opening ceremony of IPL 2023 and the fact that two mighty teams, in the form of the Gujarat Titans and the Chennai Super Kings, facing off for the opening game.
Dasara did manage to recuperate on Day #3 and scored a Rs. 12 crore Saturday, with the first Sunday of its theatrical release yielding close to Rs. 13 crores (net) in India. The overseas collections, too, have been quite impressive so far. Did IPL 2023 have any bearing on Dasara? Well, maybe to a certain extent but it would be tough to pin down the exact impact of the cricket tournament at the moment.
Ajay Devgn's Bholaa fared similarly at the domestic box office. Just as with Dasara, the Hindi film, which is a remake of the Tamil hit Kaithi starring Karthi, too, suffered a little on Friday, March 31, due to the IPL 2023 opening game but refound its groove the following day, with the first Sunday's collections helping the film close-in on the Rs. 50 crore mark at the Indian box office.
The other major commercial release of the previous week is the Simbu starrer Pathu Thala. A remake of the 2017 Kannada hit Mufti, Pathu Thala opened in theatres on an encouraging note and managed to collect over Rs. 5 crores on March 30. However, the underwhelming reviews have most likely had a bearing on the box office and the film began to struggle Day #2 onwards. Pathu Thala closed its opening weekend at around Rs. 12.50 crores (net) and it is unlikely that the IPL had much to do with the slightly below-par collections.