Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be a big competitor for Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani

We have seen what happens when two huge films — Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani — released on the same weekend. However, they seem to have settled to a pace of their collections, making way for the release of one of the most revered franchises on this Friday, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Disney India has confirmed that the movie is releasing in 1200 screens across India. “We were really fretting how to go about it, but our distribution department has cracked it,” says a source from within Disney, with the condition of anonymity.

The number 1200, however, has raised brows. How is Star Wars going to have so many screens when Bajirao Mastani and Dilwale has blocked all the screens? Does that mean it will eat into any of the other two films?

Media reports suggest that Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol’s Dilwale has been pulled down from Nepal multiplexes for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Will the same happen in India too?

“It’s a new release. It’s the next installment of big series, so people will surely prefer to watch it. It would definitely cause a dent in the collection. Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be a big competitor for Dilwale,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

Another trade analyst Atul Mohan seconds Adarsh, "It will depend on the performance of Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani. The multiplexes will reduce the number of shows of either of the films to accommodate Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If any of the films is not doing well then they will reduce the number of shows of that film and accommodate the new release. Nobody wants to miss Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

The statistics of screen division that takes place in India is not that difficult to understand considering there are approximately 10,000 screens in India. “Around 6000 screens out of a potential 10000 decide the fate of a film. Both Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani have around 3100 screens each,” reveals distributor-exhibitor Akshaye Rathi.

Needless to say, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is more of a multiplex film. “Now most of the screens are occupied by Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani. Star Wars: The Force Awakens would, of course, have more shows than the other two films this weekend, because Star Wars won’t have such a wide release in single screens, only about 300 in total,” says Akshaye Rathi.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will have both 3D and 2D releases in India. Apart from English, it will also be dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.