Rajinikanth-Akshay Kumar's Film 2.0's Rs 544 CRORE Budget is Making Us Worried for The Film's Box Office Business - Here's WHY

It was expected, but not at this level! A new poster of 2.0, shared by Akshay Kumar, has confirmed the stupendous budget of the upcoming sci-fi thriller. The poster of 2.0 calls the film as 'India's first 75 Million Dollar VFX wonder'! Which, considering the conversion rate these days, amounts to Rs 544 crore! So it's true when the makers call the film as India's most expensive film till date beating the likes of Baahubali 2 (Rs 250 crore) in the process. Baahubali, Tiger Zinda Hai: These Were the Most Expensive Movies in India Before Akshay Kumar-Rajinikanth’s 2.0

The makers, including director Shankar, has always envisioned 2.0 as VFX heavy film that will match up to the standards of Hollywood blockbuster spectacle. As a person who is a fan of such movies, I am super-excited on hearing that we will finally have a movie to compete with the likes of Transformers and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But at what cost can this dream be achieved when it comes to earning profits for the film?

While the posters of 2.0 may be proudly claiming that it is a $75 million film, that was not always the plan. The budget of the film was earlier mentioned to be about Rs 250 crore or so, when it was in the shooting phase. During the poster launch of the film, it was announced that the movie would have a budget of Rs 400 crore. 2.0 Teaser: All You Need to Know About Rajinikanth-Akshay Kumars Sci-Fi Film!

2.0 was first supposed to come out in October 2017, but the extensive post-production work caused the movie to have multiple delays in its release day. Later, we learnt that the company handling the VFX of the film went bankrupt and the makers had to hire a new firm to complete the rest of the post-production details leading to the increase in cost.

Now releasing with a staggering Rs 540 plus crore budget, it all depends on how well the teasers and trailer will be received by the audiences. The movie has to earn more than Rs 650 crore at the domestic box office and more so in the international BO too to be called profitable. Baahubali 2 managed to build a Rs 500 crore plus profit all over India, but it needed a Baahubali: The Beginning to push it.

As of now, 2.0 is riding on tremendous hype raised by its budget and the presence of its lead stars. Rajinikanth may not be the dominating box office presence as he was in the '90s and early 2000s, but he still demands a huge fan following in the South. Then there is Akshay Kumar, who is having a good run at the box office these days and he makes 2.0 viable in the Northern belt. His negative character and his crow-like appearance have already created quite a buzz for the film. The trade pundits are already calling 2.0 Akshay Kumar's first Rs 200 crore film, though they also said the same about Gold (which just about made Rs 100 crore at the domestic box office).

But is the presence of two huge stars enough to make 2.0 a Rs 600 plus crore hit? I am not throwing water over the huge ambitions of the film, but the movie's aim is also to aim money. It is not just that 2.0's success or failure is restricted to just that one film; it will also affect other big-budgeted movies in the pipeline like Sangamithra (more or less, looks to be shelved), Mohanlal's Rs 1000 crore Mahabharata project (silent after the initial announcement) and Aamir Khan's own Mahabharata trilogy (no confirmation on this). The producers of these films are looking to see how 2.0 is being received by the public.

We will get the answer to that when the first teaser of 2.0 will arrive on September 13. 2.0 also stars Amy Jackson as the female lead. The movie is all set to release on November 29. That's another concern as it might clash with Kedarnath (there is a chance that this film might get pushed to 2019). Moreover, Ajay Devgn's Total Dhamaal is releasing in the week ahead, and that could affect 2.0's business in the Bollywood belt. After all, unlike some of the hits here, 2.0 need to sustain in the long run to be called a profitable venture.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 11, 2018 04:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).