Vijay’s Bigil, Karthi’s Kaithi, Sethupathi’s Sanga Thamizhan up for box office clash of epic proportions on Diwali 2019

Diwali 2019 is going to be a feast for moviegoers in Tamil Nadu with multiple options, unlike the past two years which was ruled only by Vijay’s Mersal and Sarkar. This year, producers of Vijay’s magnum opus sports action entertainer Bigil, Karthi’s crime action drama Kaithi and Vijay Sethupathi action potboiler Sanga Thamizhan- have confirmed that their films will hit the screens during the Diwali festival weekend. Firstpost talked to theater owners and the industry insiders to know the overall vibe of the trade on this three-way clash at the box office. “Earlier this year, Rajinikanth’s Petta and Ajith’s Viswasam competed for Pongal but despite the clash, everyone in the trade was happy with box office run of both these films. It’s proven already that content is king so if the producers are confident about their product, competition is not a big deal,” says Ruben of GK Cinemas, a two-screen theater which comes under the Chengalpattu trade circuit. [caption id=“attachment_7283241” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Posters of Vijay’s Bigil (middle), Karthi’s Kaithi (left), Sethupathi’s Sanga Thamizhan (right).[/caption] “In my opinion, it’s unfair to restrict the audiences to watch only one film during a big festival weekend. If three films get released for Diwali, audiences will have multiple options,” he adds. Ramasamy Raja of Ram Muthuram Cinemas, a two-screen theater located in Tirunelveli (B Center) says, “The three-way competition would actually give a long run to these films provided if the content is good. Yes, the opening day record of a biggie might get affected but if the film has good content, no one can stop the long run. For example, Ajith’s Viswasam got a long run and ended up as the highest Tamil grosser in the state”. Ramasamy Raja also adds “If one film gets released for Diwali, majority of the audiences would watch it in ten days and then, revenue would crash. The film would have earned good profits to the producers with the long run, everyone in the trade will earn profits”. Pathy Senthil, an exhibitor from Mettupalayam, says, “I welcome multiple releases for Diwali. Already, team Bigil has locked distributors so theaters will have to choose only between Sanga Thamizhan and Kaithi as Bigil is a default choice for many screens. As Diwali is a festival weekend, there will be a good money flow in general among the public so they will have more movie options”. Sriram, who is an executive producer in the Tamil film industry, says, “Bigil’s business is almost done so they will not be affected much. Now, the distributors would quote a comparatively lesser price for both Kaithi and Sanga Thamizhan than the usual market price of Vijay Sethupathi and Karthi’s films. But if you ask whether the three releases would benefit the industry, my answer is yes”. Sources say that except North and South Arcot, the producers of Bigil have sold all the trade areas in Tamil Nadu so they are in the safe zone. The actual competition is now between both Kaithi and Sanga Thamizhan. An insider on the condition of anonymity says, “Sanga Thamizhan was initially scheduled to release on October 4 but as the producers have invested a huge amount, they are in need of a big festival weekend to recover the cost. Kaithi team also thinks that more than solo release, a festival weekend would fetch them a good revenue”. It is being said that one of the two releases, Kaithi and Sanga Thamizhan, would back out at the last moment due to lack of screens. However, as both the films are backed by powerful producers, chances are high for them to release their films on their own without any distributor’s support.