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Rajinikanth-Starrer 'Kabali' Has Raked In Rs 200 Crore Before Release

Rajinikanth's Upcoming 'Kabali' Is The Hottest Indian Film In The Trade Right Now
Kalaippuli S Thanu/YouTube

The teaser for Pa. Ranjith's upcoming Kabali, starring Rajinikanth, pretty much broke the Indian Internet when it dropped more than a month ago.

Now, according to trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai, buzz is that the film will release on July 1 in four languages (Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Malayalam) in a staggering 5,000 screens (approximately) everywhere, making it the biggest ever worldwide release for an Indian film.

In a report published in The Hindu, Pillai calls Kabali the "hottest film in the Indian film trade right now", claiming that it is all set to make Rs 200 crore from theatrical deals, merchandise, and endorsement deals before it even releases.

Pillai further elaborated:

"The Telugu dubbing rights of the film have also been finalised for a phenomenal amount and two Bollywood distributors have been camping in Chennai over the Hindi theatrical dubbing rights. In the overseas market, the film’s France distribution rights alone have sold for more than double what other star films command in the entire European market.

Such is the craze among distributors that a Hong Kong-based company has offered a huge amount for the Chinese dubbing rights and a simultaneous release in China. Negotiations are at an advanced stage as Indian films [read Bollywood] find it difficult to get a China release, and even if they release, it’s usually months after their India release."

Rajinikanth, whose co-star in this film is the talented Radhika Apte, is expected to take the final call on the film's release date soon. Although his last two releases — Lingaa (2014) and Kochadaiyaan (2014) — failed to set the box-office on fire, the jaw-dropping response to the teaser (which has over 20 million views now) coupled with bullishness about Ranjith's directorial abilities (he has previously directed smaller-budget films that have received both critical acclaim and box-office success) seems to have resulted in a tidal wave of excitement for the superstar's new film.

Incidentally, Pillai reports that Kabali was initially supposed to release alongside the Salman Khan starrer Sultan, but the clash has now been avoided to ensure that both films get their due.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.