Ranveer Singh returns to the big screen with the Yash Raj Production, Jayeshbhai Jordaar, which marks the directorial debut of Divyang Thakkar. The social comedy was certified U/A by the CBFC with an approved runtime of 2 hour and 4 minutes. Post the certification, the makers voluntarily cut short the film’s runtime by about 3 minutes and the final product is now 2-hour 1 minute long.
According to industry estimates, Jayeshbhai Jordaar is releasing on around 2000 screens across the country, with more concentration of shows towards the multiplexes. Being a social comedy, it was never even expected to do well in the single screens and mass pockets. Jayeshbhai Jordaar is a type of film which perfectly fits in the bracket of what was called a “Saturday film” in pre -pandemic times.
Given the genre and appeal, the film will strongly be dependent on the audience's word of mouth, which if positive, will result in a jump in collections from Friday evening, which is consolidated further with a jump on Saturday and Sunday. The initial response to the advance booking is not up to the mark, rather much below even the conservative expectation of the trade, and the fate on day one will strongly be dependent on the walk-ins through the day.
At this point of time, the movie is headed towards an opening in the Rs 3 to 3.5 crore range and will have a shot of breaching the Rs 4 crore mark only if the collections go up big in the evening and night. The advances are negligible, which is a scary scenario as Ranveer Singh is no small star and has in the past given respectable openings to his feature films. All eyes are now on the content and hope that if the talk is positive, it eventually transforms into audience footfalls through the weekend and take the film towards a respectable biz in the long run. The costs are controlled, which is the biggest plus for this, and like all YRF films, this one too has got hefty amount from non-theatrical deals.
In an ideal non-pandemic world, Jayeshbhai Jordaar would have opened in the 7 to 10 crore range, but these are difficult times where audiences are brutal to decide on the content they wish to experience on the big screen. The first trailer is what is triggering the audience to make up their mind, and in today’s time and age, the trailers have gained even more prominence to get the buzz rolling in favour of the film.
The tickets are reasonable as compared to the other films in the pandemic and with good talk, this might just help elevate the footfalls at a fast pace. But at the moment, it’s all wait and watch as the scenario doesn’t look too bright.