The ongoing fan wars between Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Dunki’ and Prabhas’ ‘Salaar’ took a dark turn after allegations of a ticketing scam surfaced on social media. According to reports, ‘Salaar’ raced ahead of ‘Dunki’ at the Indian box office, earning over Rs 300 crore compared to ‘Dunki’s’ Rs 160 crore, despite the latter having a head start.
As both films prepare for another long weekend at the box office, social media is abuzz with discussions and accusations related to box office numbers and ticket sales. The controversy escalated after netizens claimed that the makers of ‘Salaar’ may have engaged in dubious practices to inflate box office figures and show ‘housefull’ shows in theatres that were supposedly shut down.
Hashtags like ‘Scammer Salaar’ quickly began trending on social media, with users accusing the filmmakers of resorting to corporate and proxy bookings to artificially inflate the film’s box office numbers. Tweets pointed out instances where morning shows were shown as ‘housefull’ on booking apps, despite the theaters being closed for years. Others highlighted the prevalence of late-night shows being falsely depicted as ‘housefull’ on working days.
South Industry Expert Ramesh Bala revealed that certain theatre chains initiated bookings for 9 am shows in Telugu-speaking states without the knowledge of distributors and fans. Bala expressed skepticism, stating that such a decision would inevitably backfire.
Bala also shed light on the prevalence of proxy bookings in the industry, emphasizing that such practices were not exclusive to ‘Salaar’ and ‘Dunki’. He recommended relying on figures declared by film producers to obtain accurate box office numbers and put an end to the ongoing fan wars surrounding inflated or deflated numbers.
The controversy has stirred up a heated debate within the film industry, with stakeholders and fans calling for greater transparency in reporting box office numbers. The accusations have cast a shadow over the success of both ‘Salaar’ and ‘Dunki’, and fans are demanding accountability from the filmmakers and movie theater chains.