Who will back out from Sankranthi race ?

As many as six Telugu films are eyeing Sankranthi 2024. Though trade circles feel that there will be huge competition for theatres if all these films release in the same week , no team has shown any signs of backing out from the race.

Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Kaaram is undoubtedly the most anticipated film of Sankranthi. The Trivikram Srinivas directional has already locked January 12th and started promotions a couple of days back with the release of the first single. As the shooting formalities are progressing at a brisk pace, it is unlikely that Guntur Kaaram will be postponed.

Victory Venkatesh’s landmark 75th film Saindhav was initially supposed to hit the screens on December 22nd. However, the makers were forced to alter their plans as Prabhas’ Salaar occupied the same date. Venky and his team feel that they cannot miss out on the release date for the second time. They are very determined to release the film for Sankranthi.

There were rumours until the other day that Ravi Teja’s Eagle will defer its release date to January 26th to avoid a clash with other festival releases. But, the team has gunned down all speculations and reiterated with the release of the first teaser that Eagle will hit the screens on January 13th.

Prashanth Varma’s Hanu-Man, a first-of-its-kind superhero film, was the first movie to book Sankranthi slot. The makers of Hanu-Man announced January 12th as the release date long ago and they are very confident that it can withstand heavy competition because of the solid visual content. They started the promotions as well, hinting that there is no change in the release date.

Vijay Devarakonda’s Family Star with director Parasuram is racing against time because producer Dil Raju is particular about targeting the festival season as this is an out-and-out entertainer. Because of Dil Raju’s monopoly over theatres in many territories, there won’t be any issue with the allotment of screens to Family Star. So, the team is unwilling to postpone the release date. However, a considerable portion of the shoot is yet to be completed.

Akkineni Nagarjuna’s village drama Naa Saami Ranga is also in the fray. Although the shooting started only last month, the team is going all out to wrap up everything by the end of December and release it for Sankranthi season as the genre perfectly suits the festival vibe.

So, all six films will jostle for screens if they release during the festival season. Usually, Tollywood witnesses 3-4 releases every year during the second week of January. But, the box office battle is more intense this time. There are chances that at least one or two films will exit the race and target Republic day week. Only time will tell which films will go ahead with the clash and which others drop their plans.