Grapevine has it that the producers of the Hollywood biggie Mission Impossible 4 have apparently preponed the global release date of December 21 to December 16 in India and a few other parts of Asia.
This news has caused much surprise among fans and the industry trade watchers because, if true, the reasons for pre-poning it are unclear.
The expectations over the Tom Cruise starrer have doubled in India ever since the announcement of Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor being a part of the franchise broke out. But the apparent preponement of the release date has fuelled speculation that the producers of the Hollywood flick didn’t want to risk releasing their film in the same weekend as that of Ritesh Sidhwani’s Don 2 that releases worldwide on 23 December starring Shah Rukh Khan.
A source from M:I-4 distributors in India, Viacom 18 refuses to confirm anything. “There will shortly be an announcement about the confirmed release date, and the reasons for doing that. We are not sure if 16 December is the date as there are still closed door meetings on it. The picture will get clear in two or three days,” says the source.
Trade analyst Amod Mehra agrees that though Tom Cruise is huge in Hollywood, a Bollywood film is always preferred over an English one in India. “It is a smart move on their part to have pushed the release to an earlier date.. Producers today prefer a solo weekend where their film can do good business. It is a win-win situation. Besides, if MI4 turns out to be good, then they’ll have the last three weeks, right from 16 December to the New Year to themselves,” he said.
An industry insider however reveals that Don 2 starring SRK is the only reason why a huge franchise like M:I-4 has decided to release their film a week earlier. “Never before has it happened that a film releases in India, before it does in the US, especially when it is a Hollywood film. Tom Cruise is a huge entity, but in India, Shah Rukh Khan is bigger, even if Hollywood franchise stars Anil Kapoor in it.,” he says.
Interestingly, SRK is often referred to as the ‘Tom Cruise of India’ on the global movie front.
This news has caused much surprise among fans and the industry trade watchers because, if true, the reasons for pre-poning it are unclear.
The expectations over the Tom Cruise starrer have doubled in India ever since the announcement of Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor being a part of the franchise broke out. But the apparent preponement of the release date has fuelled speculation that the producers of the Hollywood flick didn’t want to risk releasing their film in the same weekend as that of Ritesh Sidhwani’s Don 2 that releases worldwide on 23 December starring Shah Rukh Khan.
A source from M:I-4 distributors in India, Viacom 18 refuses to confirm anything. “There will shortly be an announcement about the confirmed release date, and the reasons for doing that. We are not sure if 16 December is the date as there are still closed door meetings on it. The picture will get clear in two or three days,” says the source.
Trade analyst Amod Mehra agrees that though Tom Cruise is huge in Hollywood, a Bollywood film is always preferred over an English one in India. “It is a smart move on their part to have pushed the release to an earlier date.. Producers today prefer a solo weekend where their film can do good business. It is a win-win situation. Besides, if MI4 turns out to be good, then they’ll have the last three weeks, right from 16 December to the New Year to themselves,” he said.
An industry insider however reveals that Don 2 starring SRK is the only reason why a huge franchise like M:I-4 has decided to release their film a week earlier. “Never before has it happened that a film releases in India, before it does in the US, especially when it is a Hollywood film. Tom Cruise is a huge entity, but in India, Shah Rukh Khan is bigger, even if Hollywood franchise stars Anil Kapoor in it.,” he says.
Interestingly, SRK is often referred to as the ‘Tom Cruise of India’ on the global movie front.
