Why Salman Khan will rule UAE box office this Ramadan

Hollywood movie buffs have reason to grumble while Bollywood fans have reason to rejoice.

This Ramadan, a number of Hollywood blockbusters have been put in the cold storage in the UAE, to be released around Eid.

On the other hand, Bollywood movies are a go, with at least one new movie release slated for every week right until Eid, when Salman Khan’s classic masala act ‘Kick’ is set to entertain us.

The much-awaited sci-fi thriller ‘Transformers 4’, which is doing big business on international shores, is being held over for an Eid release.

Now in its fourth instalment, ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ is creating box-office history, with the international media claiming it has collected “$100 million in North American ticket sales for its opening weekend”.

However, UAE fans of the action thriller will have to wait until the holy month of Ramadan ends.

‘Transformers 4’ isn’t the only big Hollywood release that is being held over. ‘Tammy’ too gets delayed in the UAE, with movie showcasers in the UAE claiming it could hit the theatres on Eid-al-Fitr.

‘Tammy’, described as a ‘poignant comedy’, is gaining rave reviews from movie critics around the world, and its lead star Melissa McCarthy is being touted as a “box-office powerhouse”.

According to a spokesperson at Grand Cinemas, apart from the two movies, the “tentative” list for new releases on Eid show ‘The Purge: Anarchy’, ‘The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box’, and ‘Postman Pat: The Movie’, ‘Dawn of the Planet of The Apes’, and ‘Planes: Fire & Rescue’.

Talking to Emirates 24|7, Svetlana Gunko, marketing representative of Empire International Gulf, explained that the delay is because the movie business usually dips during this time of the year. “The business does slow down, so big distributors and production houses prefer to release movies later.

“Also, this is the time when a lot of people go on holiday, and the mood is generally towards family get-togethers. Families prefer to gather for iftaars and suhoors, rather than head to the cinemas.”

However, Bollywood fans have much to rejoice. Every weekend, up until Eid, will have a new release, with this weekend, releasing not one but two Bollywood movies. Vidya Balan’s detective drama ‘Bobby Jasoos’ and Armaan Jain’s Bollywood debut ‘Lekar Hum Deewana Dil’.

Next week will see ‘Student of the Year’ duo Varun Dhawan and Ali Bhatt romancing each other in ‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania’. And, the weekend just before Eid will see ‘Hate Story 2’.

The grand finale is reserved exclusively to Salman Khan, who’s promising a cracker of an Eid with his classic masala act in ‘Kick’.

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