Salaar advance booking reaches ₹48.94 crore, Prabhas film to open much higher than Dunki

Salaar advance booking: Prabhas’ much-anticipated action drama is surely opening big at the box office on Friday despite reports of the film not getting fair screen share amid another big release, Dunki.

The film recorded first-day advance booking of ₹48.94 crore, as per a report on Sacnilk.com. This indicates that its final opening collection can be much higher than Dunki which opened a day before on Thursday at around ₹30 crore.

As per the report, more than 22 lakh tickets for 16,593 shows were sold for Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire’s opening day on Friday. This includes around 17 lakh tickets worth ₹38.25 crore for Telugu shows alone. More than 2 lakh tickets worth 5.62 crore were sold for Hindi shows and tickets worth ₹1.9 crore for Tamil shows were sold ahead of the film release.

Salaar vs Dunki controversy
Over a few days, some from the industry have voiced concerns over Salaar not getting a fair screen share with Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Dunki. The makers of Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire on Wednesday said they won’t screen their film in PVR INOX and Miraj Cinemas theatres in the south because the multiplex chains are favouring Dunki over the Prabhas-starrer. A spokesperson for Hombale Films said PVR INOX and Miraj Cinemas had promised the banner that both Salaar and Dunki would get “equal showcasing”, a promise they did not honour.

More about Salaar
Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire, directed by Prashanth Neel of KGF fame, also released across the globe in Kannada and Malayalam. It has Prabhas and Prithviraj Sukumaran in lead roles and Shruti Haasan as the female lead. The film is set in the fictional city of Khansaar and follows the story of Deva and Vardha, played by Prabhas and Sukumaran, respectively.

Talking about the film, Prithviraj Sukumaran recently told PTI in an interview, “I had different notions about what the film would be. I didn’t expect it to be a story of two friends, their bonding, and what happens between them. That caught me by surprise. What drew me in was the drama. Despite all the spectacular fight sequences and huge sets, what pulls you in Salaar is the drama. That drama, regardless of how big or small the film is or in which language the film is made, it works.”