This Wednesday, that is on June 5, brings two big releases together on the auspicious occasion of Eid al-Fitr. Bhai fans are going absolutely berserk waiting to break their fast with a Salman Khan film, which often comes up as an Eid gift for them. Bharat is releasing on June 5 and it is clashing with the new X-Men film Dark Phoenix. Going by the hype and Salman Khan's previous outings that came out during Eid, forget Tubelight and Race 3, Bharat is expected to take a flying start at the box office.
Talking of its competitor, Dark Phoenix is expected to give Salman Khan some tough competition at the box office. In the past few years, the X-Men franchise has established itself successfully in India despite the fewer screen counts offered to them. The previous film in the First Class trilogy, Apocalypse, may have earned around Rs 33.56 crores in India, which is decent figures considering it was the worst-reviewed film in the trilogy. Its predecessor, X-Men: Days of Future Past, had fared much better, raking in Rs 64 crore lifetime collection. Bharat: Check Out the Box Office Report Card of Salman Khan and His Eid Releases!
While Bharat is releasing in over 4000 plus screens in India, X-Men: Dark Phoenix is set to release in less than 1000 screens as per the media reports. The ICC 2019 Cricket World that had commenced in England from May 30 would minorly affect the film in terms of the box-office business. Not to forget. India's first match of the campaign is lined up on June 5. So there is a possibility that cricket aficionados might pick India's match over Bhai's film or the X-Men movie on that day.
If you are looking forward to book tickets for any of these two films on Eid, here's a little insight on both Bharat and Dark Phoenix for you to decide what to choose first. Game of Thrones Star Sophie Turner Was Nervous About Dark Phoenix – Here’s Why
Bharat
An official adaptation of Yoon Je-kyoon's 2014 Korean film Ode to My Father, Ali Abbas Zafar's Bharat brings back the super hit jodi of Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif together after Tiger Zinda Hai (2017). Katrina Kaif had joined the cast, after Priyanka Chopra has opted out of the project following personal commitment. The film has been exclusively shot in Abu Dhabi, Spain, Malta, Punjab and Delhi. Apart from Salman and Katrina, Bharat includes a wide ensemble cast of Tabu, Sunil Grover, Disha Patani, Satish Kaushik, Jackie Shroff, Sonali Kulkarni, Nora Fatehi and Manav Vij.
Dark Phoenix
Dark Phoenix is the seventh and final instalment from the X-Men main canon (not including the Wolverine and Deadpool spinoffs). The film majorly revolves around the Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner's character Jean Grey whose superpowers go out of her control which turns her to Dark Phoenix. Now the X-Men will have to battle their own team member in order to save the world from her reign of chaos. The film features main First Class cast like James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Tye Sheridan as Cyclops and Evan Peters as Quicksilver to name some of the few mutants. It will be interesting to see whether the X-Men team will be able to control Jean Grey or will Dark Phoenix will be victorious over all of them.
Dark Phoenix and Bharat's clash at the box office may face some competition from earlier releases like Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Aladdin that are still running successfully in the theatres. Not to forget Ajay Devgn's De De Pyaar De is inching towards the Rs 100 crore mark.
So which film would you watch this Eid? Bharat or X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Let us know in the comments section below.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 03, 2019 04:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).