2.0 release postponed to April 2018; will clash with Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun's films

As Lyca Productions has officially released a statement confirming that Rajinikanth’s 2.0 will release in April 2018, popular Telugu producers have opposed the decision since they have already lined up two highly-anticipated films in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. [caption id=“attachment_3707671” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Posters of 2.0, starring Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar. Images via Twitter[/caption] “Lyca Productions - Superstar Rajinikanth - Akshay Kumar - Shankar magnum opus Sci-fi action thriller 2.0 to be screened worldwide in April 2018. Nation’s costliest 3D film starring Superstar Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, directed by Shankar, music by AR Rahman. The high-tech post-production works are fully geared, and the team is all set for the release schedule,” read an official statement from Raju Mahalingam, Creative Head of Lyca Productions. Originally slated to hit screens for the Republic Day weekend, 2.0 has now been postponed to 27 April 2018. Two big-budget Telugu films, Mahesh Babu-Koratala Siva’s Bharat Ane Nenu, and Allu Arjun-Vakkantham Vamsi’s Naa Peru Surya have already been slated for release on this day, as 2.0 was anticipated to hit the screens on 14 April — the Tamil New Year weekend. [caption id=“attachment_4239789” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Mahesh Babu in a poster for Bharath Ane Nenu. Image from Twitter/@PKCREATIVEWORKZ[/caption] Now, influential Telugu producer Bunny Vas has said that he will take up the issue with the producers’ council and exhibitors association of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, along with producer DVV Danayya, who is backing Bharath Ane Nenu. “We stand by our release date commitment,” said Bunny Vas in his Facebook post. “The makers of 2.0 seriously considered the 14 April option, but the release of Marvel’s The New Mutants, the eleventh installment of the X-Men series, on the same date will eat up the 3D screens in the USA, which is a major foreign market for Rajinikanth’s films. In fact, Kabali (including the Tamil and Telugu versions) grossed more than $4 million in the USA alone and Enthiran (Tamil, Hindi and Telugu), which released in 2010, grossed nearly $2.4 million in the USA. Hence, they have decided to lock 27 April as the release date,” informs a source in the know. But, there is a potential threat to 2.0 in Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War, which is confirmed to release in India on 27 April 2018, a week before its release in the USA on 4 May 2018. “With every title, the popularity and fan following of Marvel’s superheroes has grown exponentially in the country. And the initial glimpse in the trailer has quadrupled the expectations and response. With so much love and anticipation around Avengers: Infinity War, we decided to make the movie special for Indian fans by releasing it earlier by a week before it opens in the US,” Bikram Duggal, Head of Studio Entertainment, Disney India, said in a statement on 2 December. [caption id=“attachment_4237335” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from Avengers: Infinity War. YouTube screengrab[/caption] Meanwhile, the makers of 2.0 are currently planning the teaser and trailer launch events for the film in a grand manner. The teaser is expected to be launched in Hyderabad towards the end of January, or early February and the trailer will be released in Chennai in March. Directed by Shankar, 2.0 is touted to be Asia’s costliest natively acquired 3D film made at a whopping budget of Rs 400 crores. The film, which also marks Akshay Kumar’s foray into Tamil cinema in the role of an antagonist, has music composed by Oscar award-winning composer AR Rahman. Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey, Adil Hussain, and Kalabhavan Shajohn form the supporting cast of the film.