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Mumbai: Aamir Khan-starrer 'Sitaare Zameen Par' may collect somewhere between Rs. 11 to 15 crore on the opening day but more than star power, word-of-mouth will determine its fate, according to theatre owners and trade experts.

The upcoming film, billed as a spiritual sequel to “Taare Zameen Par”, focused on themes of inclusivity and empowerment. Aamir takes on the role of a basketball coach who mentors ten differently-abled individuals.

Mumbai-based exhibitor and distributor Rajesh Thadani said word-of-mouth will determine good box office results for “Sitaare Zameen Par” over the weekend.

“Since it’s Aamir Khan and the subject is different, there are hopes that it will do well. I’ve great hope for the film, it should do anywhere between Rs. 10 to 15 crore. If the word-of-mouth is good, then box office collection should improve, and it should touch Rs. 50 crores in three days. The film is emotional and it will cater to family audiences, children and specially-abled children,” Thadani told PTI.

The buzz is not like any other Aamir Khan film, which usually takes a big opening, said trade expert Taran Adarsh.

“It is a word-of-mouth film. If the audience reacts well on day one, then the film will have good numbers in the coming days. As of now, it looks like a single-digit opening for the movie,” Adarsh told PTI.

Distributor-exhibitor Akshay Rathi, who owns theatres in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh, said the movie will appeal to urban audiences more.

“The buzz around the film is good because Aamir Khan is one of the true-blue superstars that we’ve in our country. This film seems to be an urban film, and it will appeal largely to the urban multiplex audience... I don’t think it’s a film that will chase a ballistic opening,” Rathi told PTI.

“Dependence on superstars for box office numbers ceases to exist, and we’ve seen that with films like ‘Stree 2’, ‘Chhaava’. However, given the subject and the appeal of ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’, it can become a dark horse and keep running for a long time,” he said.

“Sitaare Zameen Par” is a remake of the 2018 Spanish film “Campeones”, and its success led to the Hollywood adaptation titled “Champions”, with Woody Harrelson in the lead role.

Raj Bansal, a prominent film distributor and director of Entertainment Paradise in Jaipur, said that since most people have not seen the original film, this could work to the advantage of Khan.

“The film is a remake, but 90 per cent of the people have not watched the original film. So, there is a curiosity to watch the film. It is not a regular mass cinema film. It is meant for the family-class audience,” Bansal told PTI.

Khan’s decision to prioritise theatrical release over immediate OTT availability has also been a topic of discussion among industry veterans.

Bansal applauded Khan’s decision and said this move will lure the audience to theatres.

“The film will be a game-changer for Indian cinema because Aamir Khan has decided not to release the film on OTT. I’ve been an advocate of the same thing because the audience is aware that the film will be available on OTT after a few weeks, hence they don’t come to the theatre to watch it,” he said.

In addition to Aamir, the movie stars Genelia Deshmukh and ten newcomers, including Aroush Datta, Gopi Krishna Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali, Ashish Pendse, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain, Naman Mishra, and Simran Mangeshkar, all of whom are specially-abled.

Directed by RS Prasanna, “Sitaare Zameen Par” is set to release on Friday. 

(This report has been published as part of an auto-generated syndicated wire feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been modified or edited by ABP LIVE.)