Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has made his much-awaited lead-hero comeback with the spy action thriller movie ‘Pathaan’, which has just been released in more than 5000 theatres in India and around 2500 theatres overseas. Pathaan’s Day-1 ticket sales status for national chains as reported last night was a massive 6.5 lakh. So, the hype around the film is incredible.
However, despite that, the share price of prominent Indian multiplex chain PVR has shown a declining trend so far (at the time of writing this article) for today. PVR stock opened today with around Rs.1685 and mostly dipped thereafter. And interestingly, PVR’s stock dip has coincided with the theatrical release of SRK’s ‘Pathaan’.
Having said that, considering the massive buzz, record-breaking advance booking figures, and some of the early reviews for the film, the stock price dip for PVR might just be a temporary aberration and unrelated to Pathaan’s release. Because the film is sending all the right signals until now with respect to its forthcoming theatrical performance and audience footfall during the first five days of the week.
Shah Rukh Khan fans can heave a sigh of relief because the reason for PVR’s stock price dip for today might be because of some other market forces and not related to Pathaan’s theatrical release at all. Moreover, PVR stock can bounce back today itself.
‘Pathaan’ is being touted by many cinema enthusiasts as a potential blockbuster of 2023. Industry experts are expecting ‘Pathaan’ to gross around 150-200 crores during its first week itself. Provided that the film continues to spread positive word of mouth and the film is not adversely affected by any sizable social media backlash.
And if that actually happens and ‘Pathaan’ indeed turns out to be the blockbuster Bollywood was looking for, then it’s great news for the Indian film industry in general and multiplex chains like PVR and Inox (in the longer run), which depend on the success of big-ticket films like ‘Pathaan’. Pathaan’s critical and commercial verdict will be out in the next few days and that’s when things will become more clear.
‘Pathaan’ is the fourth instalment of the YRF spy universe. Helmed by Siddharth Anand, the action thriller movie features superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the titular role of a daredevil RAW agent and co-stars John Abraham and Deepika Padukone in pivotal roles.