Predictions: Raees V/S Kaabil

2017 has begun with a low note with Ok Jaanu, a movie that failed to register any substantial cash at the box office. the other big releases of January are Hrithik Roshan's "Kaabil" and SRK's "Raees". Both the movie belong to a different genre and looking at the current status of the box office, these movies shouldn't have ended up in a clash. But anyways! 

Speaking about Kaabil, the movie is releasing on a screen count of 2200 should at least assure the producers of a double-digit opening. Hrithik has not been able to taste success at the box office, both critically and commercially and has lost some fan base. The way B-town has praised the movie seems that there is going to be some 'real' competition between the two biggies and the opening of both these movies should more or less tell the tale. The second trailer of Kaabil is hands down amazing. We get a glimpse of Ronit Roy and personally, being a fan of his work I am pretty sure it is going to be a good thriller. For the cherry on the cake here is Sanjay Gupta's impeccable direction and his success at creating thrillers is quite well known so, as a thriller Kaabil has ticked the right boxes and let's hope all goes well for the movie.The story of Kaabil is more or less clear from the trailer i.e. it is an out and out revenge saga which starts of romantically and ends tragically.The music is not up to the mark. "Kaabil Hoon" has managed to get some recognition whereas "Haseeno ka Deewana" is a complete letdown. Kaabil's box office revenue shall not be affected by the music as incase of "Baar Baar Dekho", which managed to collect some revenue solely on the basis of its music. There is a substantial amount of buzz, Hrithik's fanbase, Ronit's fanbase and of course the romantic angle between Hrithik and Yami should give Kaabil some good footing at the box office. According to me, Kaabil should a business of 95-125 crores at the box office.

     SRK is a word enough to attract a substantial chunk of the audience to the theatre. This time he is back with what seems a perfect masala ride, Raees. Playing the titular role in the movie, SRK has got us eager for this one ever since the FIRST trailer came out. With Farhan Akhtar and SRK producing the film, the content of the movie can more or less be assured of. The dialogues, his on-screen panache, has got Raees roar among the audience for the right reason.Similar to Kaabil, the presence of Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been the cherry on the cake here. Mahira Khan's beauty, locales of Gujarat, the 'cat and mouse' chase of Nawaz and SRK seems to just add to the curiosity. Rajiv Dholakia, the director, seems to some footing in Bollywood only in the department of meaningful cinema so it will be interesting to see how he dishes out a commercial entertainer. With big names attached to this delayed project let's hope it is similar to the wine i.e. the older it is, the tastier it will become. Raees has already got chartbuster music of O Zaalima and Laila Main Laila, that might help it at the box office to some extent. Releasing on a screen count of 2500, roughly equal to Kaabil, Raees should also open to double digits and what matters more here is the growth of the film. The better the growth, more the revenue. Actual scenario of Raees shall be clear after the first Monday.

Similar to HR, SRK has also not tasted success at the box office for quite some time as both Fan and Dilwale failed alarmingly, but what is important is that his fan base is quite intact.( Exclude Dear Zindagi coz he wasn't the lead) With all said and set, Raees should do an opening day better than Kaabil and so my prediction for the box office collection of Raees is 120- 150 crore.

                                                                

Raees should emerge as the winner of the clash.

The only way Kaabil can overpower Raees is in the department of content and the recent winners of the clashes in Bollywood were all high on content.If both these movie seems high on content then surely it will be Raees to the lead, all thanks to SRK's fanbase. The actual winner of this clash should be clear by the FIRST MONDAY of both these films because of a normal working day, gives a normal fall in the BO collection and a normal person will NOT put their money on a movie that does NOT deliver good content and after a day's work people want good cinema. Lets just hope that both the producers of Kaabil and Raees end up making profits from the theatrical revenue because it is them who are at stake "actually."
                                                    



So all said and done, May the Better Movie WIN! But there is someone who shall always be at loss and that's the Box Office.