Box-office clashes in 2018: SRK, Anushka, Salman, Aishwarya’s films to battle it out

Bollywood churns out hundreds of films every year, all vying for the 52 Fridays available. So, there are bound to be clashes at the box office. And the coming year is no different.

Sidharth Malhotra’s Aiyaary will take on Anushka Sharma’s Pari on Feb 9, and actor Rani Mukerji’s Hichki and John Abraham’s Parmanu will release on Feb 23. March 2 will see a clash between Drive and Hate Story 4. “A good film will grow regardless of any Friday… or any other film releasing with it. And it’s really unfortunate that we are releasing Aiyaary with somebody else, but today, you can’t avoid it with so many films releasing at the same time. However, as an actor, it is not something that plays on my head because it’s beyond my control,” says Sidharth.

Aiyaary takes on Pari on February 9, 2018.

As the year progresses into festive weekends, the stakes get higher. Ex-lovers Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Salman Khan’s films Fanney Khan and Race 3 respectively are set for an Eid release — becoming the latest announcement. “It’s official... #FanneyKhan confirmed for Eid 2018...” trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted on Friday.

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But the baap of clashes in 2018 will be between Shah Rukh Khan’s untitled dwarf film with Aanand L Rai, Ranveer Singh’s Temper remake with Rohit Shetty and Sushant Singh Rajput and debutante Sara Ali Khan’s Kedarnath on December 21. “Kedarnath needs a long holiday, and this will ensure that it gets a clean run till January. If it’s a good film, the audience will definitely come,” says producer Prernaa Arora, whose films Pari, Parmanu, and yet-untitled thriller with Irrfan and Deepika Padukone are also lined up for 2018. “I have films lined up throughout the year, so I can’t come before, then again in January 2019 someone has already booked the January 26 slot, therefore I chose December 2018 because there’s clarity for what’s ahead... Even 2019’s dates are blocked,” adds Arora, admitting that blocking dates well in advance is the new trend.

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