Jersey to release across 2000+ screens in India; to sustain despite Heropanti 2 and Runway 34 release a week later

The Shahid Kapoor-starrer Jersey was all set to be released on December 31, 2021, but it was indefinitely pushed due to the third wave of Covid-19. Finally, the makers decided to release this film on April 14 and thereby clash with KGF - Chapter 2. However, on April 11, the producers announced that Jersey has been postponed by a week. It was being said that Jersey got pushed to avoid a collision with KGF - Chapter 2, which had recorded unprecedented advance sales.

During a recent exclusive interaction with Bollywood Hungama, Jayantilal Gada of PEN India Ltd was asked about this development. He said, “So, we are only distributing Jersey. Their makers decided to push it to April 22 and I think it’s a good decision because clashing with KGF - Chapter 2 would have proved detrimental. Thankfully, they had the time to postpone, which they did.”

The trade is worried since on Eid week, that is April 29, two big films – Heropanti 2 and Runway 34 – would be released. KGF - Chapter 2, meanwhile, will be out on April 14. Does Jayantilal Gada feel that Jersey will get sandwiched between these movies? Jayantilal replied, “I don’t think so. Agar Jersey acchi picture hai, toh koi bhi exhibitor utaarna nahi chahega.”

Many felt that PEN India should have sold RRR, Attack and Jersey as a package to the exhibitors. They believe that this would have enabled Jersey to get sufficient shows. Many distributors follow this practice.

At this Jayantilal Gada emphasized, “Yes, but we don’t do it. Every film has its own journey and merits. We approach exhibitors on a film-to-film basis. We do not dictate terms that we will not give a film like RRR if exhibitors refuse to play our forthcoming film. Har film ki apni kismat hoti hai. Hence, I believe it’s not good to adopt this practice. It puts pressure on exhibitors. Woh bhi apna dhanda kar rahe hai. Their challenges are more, in fact. They need to accommodate not just Hindi but also English films, Marathi, Punjabi, and other regional cinema. We need to support them. Sabko leke aage chalna chahiye.”

Finally, when asked about the approx. screen count of Jersey, Jayantilal Gada said, “It will release on 2000+ screens for sure.”