PremiumKabzaa digital upload delayed; USA premieres cancelled
The R Chandru film was to have had March 16 Thursday evening shows in America, but the latest reports state that this will not happen.
Last Updated: 01.23 PM, Mar 16, 2023
R Chandru’s ambitious gangster flick, Kabzaa, will be in theatres tomorrow, March 17. The film was set to get a global simultaneous release with premieres in the USA on March 16 Thursday evening local time. But according to the latest reports, audiences there will get to see it only the following day, as there’s been a delay in the Qube upload of the film, owing to which exhibitors do not have access to the content to facilitate premiere shows.
This will be yet another blow for the filmmaker, given that bookings for his film back home have been dull. Chandru and team have been banking on positive word of mouth publicity from the premiere shows to boost the film’s box office prospects. But that is not a possibility anymore, so Kabzaa’s fate will hang on the response to the first show in India tomorrow. The Upendra-led gangster flick has no early morning shows either.
Multiple reasons are being cited for the below average bookings for the film, starting with insufficient promotions, box office markets of Chandru and Upendra, exam season, etc., but most importantly, the content used for promotions has not elicited good response. The first teaser was panned for being way too similar to Yash’s KGF, as was the theme song by Ravi Basrur. Netizens trashed the Kabzaa title track as a KGF reject song. There was a glimmer of hope after the classical number Namaami Namaami, but that was lost again with the special number Chum Chum Chali.
All eyes were on the film’s trailer then and while it boasted great visuals, it did not offer much by way of what to expect of the story and was more a showreel of the cast that Chandru is presenting in the film. Although it garnered some traction, the trailer has not bolstered interest in the film, with a majority of netizens on social media stating that Kabzaa’s fortunes depend solely on positive word of mouth, as Chandru has promised that he is presenting a vastly different story with great making that will make for a visual spectacle.