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The Communiqué News

Films starring Vijay, Ajith Kumar, Chiranjeevi & Balakrishna to compete in Pongal-Sankranti Season

In many parts of India, the Pongal and Sankranti harvest festivals are celebrated this week. Four massive stars from the southern Indian film industry will compete for audience attention during one of the busiest Indian festival release windows.


Pritish Bagdi

Sri Venkateswara Creations/PVP Cinema/Bayview Projects LLP/ Zee Studios/Mythri Movie Makers


Vijay appears in Vamshi Paidipally's Tamil-language action family drama "Varisu," which will be released on January 11th. Its Telugu-language dubbed version "Varasudu" will be released in India on January 14. Rashmika Mandanna, R. Sarathkumar, Prabhu, and Prakash Raj round out the heavyweight cast.

Also due a Jan. 11 release is H. Vinoth's Tamil-language action heist film "Thunivu," starring Ajith Kumar, which will also release in its Telugu-dubbed version "Thegimpu" on the same day. Manju Warrier and Samuthirakani also appear in the film.

Chiranjeevi stars in K.S. Ravindra's Telugu-language action comedy "Waltair Veerayya," which also stars Ravi Teja, Shruti Haasan, Rajendra Prasad, and Catherine Tresa. The film and its Hindi-language dub will be released on January 13, with previews beginning on January 12.

Nandamuri Balakrishna, Shruti Haasan, and Duniya Vijay star in Gopichand Malineni's Telugu-language action drama "Veera Simha Reddy," which is set to be released on January 12.

All of the films are produced by well-known industry figures. "Varisu" is produced by Dil Raju's Sri Venkateswara Creations ("Sarileru Neekevvaru") and Prasad V. Potluri's PVP Cinema ("Evaru"); "Thunivu" is produced by Zee Studios and Boney Kapoor's Bayview Projects ("Valimai"); and both Telugu titles are produced by Naveen Yerneni, Y.

Because there are so many big-ticket titles releasing at the same time, distributors have adopted a variety of promotional strategies. In the United Kingdom, for example, "Varisu" distributor Ahimsa Entertainment is running a digital advertising campaign in 75 London locations.

Lyca Productions, which is distributing "Thunivu" in the United Kingdom and Europe through Boleyn Cinemas, has a promotional van for the film touring London landmarks such as Big Ben and Tower Bridge.



According to research, global box office increased by 27% in 2022 to reach $26 billion overall.

$26 billion was the total box office take for movies worldwide in 2022, a respectable 27% increase from 2021, but still far below pre-pandemic levels.


Swati Bhat

Research company Gower Street Analytics estimated that global gross box office receipts for the entire year ended December 31, 2022, at $25.9 billion. In comparison, $21.4 billion was made in 2021.

The 2022 figure is 35% lower than the average for 2017–19, the three years prior to COVID–19, which completely changed the worldwide film industry. According to Gower Street, the 2022 figure equals a $14 billion annual loss in gross revenue.

China lost the box office title to the North American (also known as "domestic") market in 2022 after holding the top spot in both 2020 and 2021.

The North American market is expected to generate $7.5 billion in revenue in 2022, according to Comscore Movies. That put it 65% ahead of 2021 but 35% behind the average for 2017–2019.

In 2022, it is estimated that Asia Pacific (excluding China) will have produced $5.2 billion, which is 26% less than the 2017–2019 average and 49% more than in 2021. With an expected $1.5 billion, Japan was the market to watch in 2022, only 9.4% behind its pre-pandemic average.

China is estimated to have placed fourth with a total revenue of $4.33 billion, 36% behind 2021. The 2022 China figure was much lower than the nation's pre-pandemic three-year average by 49%. According to other observers, 2022 was China's lowest annual total in 11 years.

According to estimates, the global market (excluding China and North America) will have generated about $14.1 billion in 2022, up 55% from 2021 and 29% less than the average for the years 2017–2019. In comparison to the three-year average, all three major areas outperformed the North American and Chinese markets.

Europe, the Middle East, and Africa brought in $7.1 billion, which is an increase of 52% over 2021 but 31% less than the pre-pandemic average.

Nearly $1.8 billion was generated in Latin America, which was 30% below than the three-year average but had the highest increase over 2021 at 87%.

Russia was the company's least successful market as compared to pre-pandemic sales levels. Revenues in Russia decreased 57% from pre-pandemic levels in 2021 to a figure that was down 43% from 2021.

China ($4.3 billion), Japan ($1.5 billion), the United Kingdom and Ireland ($1.2 billion), France ($1.1 billion), South Korea ($0.9 billion), Germany ($0.8 billion), Australia ($0.64 billion), Mexico ($0.63 billion), Spain ($0.4 billion), Brazil ($0.35 billion), Italy ($0.33 billion), Russia ($0.31 billion), Russia ($0.31 billion), Netherlands ($0.27 billion), Saudi Arabia ($0.27 billion), and the United Arab Emirates ($0.16 billion).

Comparisons of percentages between 2022 and 2021 and the years before the pandemic were made using like-for-like local currency figures that were converted at the current exchange rate for improved accuracy.






The first glimpse at Sharman Joshi's "Congratulations"

Mumbai [India], January 2: The Gujarati film "Congratulations" has released the first look, which features Sharman Joshi in a hitherto unseen role.


Swati Bhat

Sharing the poster, he wrote, "Parenthood Has No Gender..! Here comes the first look of Congratulations..! In cinemas from February 3rd, 2023. Written & Directed by:- @rehan.chaudhary_Produced by :- @jeegar.chauhan & @vedant300582."

Manasi Parekh Gohil will also play the lead in the family drama. Ami Bhayani, Swati Dave, Jayesh Barbahya, Archan Trivedi, and others. Rehan Chaudhary is the writer and director of "Congratulations," which is scheduled to open in theatres on February 3,2023.

Sharman is a well-known Bollywood actor who has appeared in a number of movies, including "3 Idiots," "Golmaal: Fun Unlimited," and "Rang De Basanti." He also appeared in "Mission Mangal." The movie Mangalyaan is based on the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), which an Indian Space Research Organization team of scientists conducted (ISRO). As ISRO scientists, the movie stars Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Nithya Menon, and Kirti Kulhari.




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