Should Rakshit Shetty change the release date of 777 Charlie to avoid clash with 83, Pushpa and RRR?

Earlier this week, social media was abuzz with discussions about whether Rakshit Shetty’s decision to release his next film, 777 Charlie, on December 31, 2021 was the right choice. When Rakshit announced the release date, in keeping with his streak of having films come out in December, like his last two – Kirik Party and Avane Srimannarayana – it didn’t raise any eyebrows.

But as the days progressed, and with film theatres across the country reopening it soon became clear that several other big-ticket films are eyeing the Christmas and New Year box office opening. As of now, the Christmas week will have Ranveer Singh’s 83, as well as Allu Arjun’s Pushpa The Rise Part 1, on Dec 24 and 25 respectively, followed by 777 Charlie on Dec 31, with NTR Junior and Ram Charan’s RRR landing a week later.

Herein lies the problem. 777 Charlie is being marketed as a pan-Indian film that will be released in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. Even if we discount the possibility of 83, Pushpa and RRR releasing in other languages, in the week before the release of 777 Charlie, 83 and Pushpa (which has Rashmika Mandanna and Dhananjaya on its cast) will hog screens in their primary markets, which are unlikely to be opened up for a pan-Indian Kannada film. Even in the major cities in Karnataka, 83 and Pushpa will get a sizeable market share in the week of 777 Charlie’s release, with RRR then poised to take a bite a week later. With theatres reopening in Kerala by the end of October, there might be festive releases lined up there too. There’s also the possibility of Sudeep’s Vikrant Rona releasing by mid-January next year.

Given the current scenario, fans have been taking to social media saying that the makers of 777 Charlie, in this case Rakshit’s banner Paramvah Studios, should relook the release date, as the film will not get a clear window in any of its intended markets. While some suggested advancing the release to early December, given that no big film has announced plans for that time period, others said that a direct-to-OTT approach would be better. In fact, it has been reported that the digital rights of the film have already been sold to Amazon Prime Video. What do you think? Should Rakshit stick to the last week of December, which he considers lucky, or should 777 Charlie find an alternate date with audiences?