Mufasa: The Lion King has sold more tickets on its Christmas advances than Baby John has managed in its Day 1 advance bookings. While the latter had high expectations ahead of its release, it seems to be struggling to attract pre-sale interest compared to its competitors.
Mufasa: The Lion King, featuring the voices of Shah Rukh Khan in the Hindi version and Mahesh Babu in the Telugu version, has been doing well at Indian theatres.
Despite the global box office being slightly below industry predictions, the film has exceeded expectations in India, grossing Rs 38 crore in just four days.
On its fifth day, the film is expected to add another Rs 5 crore, and with the Christmas holiday around the corner, a major jump in collections is anticipated for Wednesday.
Mufasa: The Lion King Dominates In Advance Ticket Sales
The film is proving to be the most popular choice in multiplexes for the holiday season. By 2 p.m. IST on Christmas Eve, Mufasa had already sold 50,000 tickets across the top national chains, PVRInox and Cinepolis.
With 41,500 tickets sold in PVRInox and 8,500 in Cinepolis, the movie is set for a strong showing on its first Christmas day in theatres, even though it faces competition from Pushpa 2 and Baby John, among other regional films.
In contrast, Baby John, which stars Varun Dhawan and marks the Hindi debut of South actress Keerthy Suresh, has failed to gain the same traction in advance bookings. The film has managed to sell only 31,500 tickets so far, a figure that is falling short of expectations, especially for a film releasing on a national holiday.
With just hours remaining before its release, Baby John is expected to end its pre-sale phase with between 55,000 and 65,000 tickets, which still pales in comparison to the numbers racked up by other major films.
Will Baby John Get A Much-Needed Boost Or Begin With An Underwhelming BO Opening?
Despite featuring a star-studded cast, including Wamiqa Gabbi and Jackie Shroff, Baby John has struggled to captivate audiences in its pre-sale phase. The movie’s early numbers are underwhelming, with 26,000 tickets sold at PVRInox and 5,500 at Cinepolis by noon on Tuesday.
The film’s opening is projected to be in the range of Rs 12 crore to Rs 15 crore, though this now seems unlikely given the disappointing advance bookings.
While Mufasa benefits from the star power of Shah Rukh Khan and Mahesh Babu, Baby John will need to rely on strong word-of-mouth and walk-in bookings to boost its opening.
Though the film has its own share of excitement, including the debut of Keerthy Suresh in Bollywood, the pre-sale numbers suggest that it may struggle to meet its target opening, especially in the face of Mufasa’s growing dominance in theatres this Christmas.
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