The Archies: Theatrical Release Potential Adds Rs 100 Crore Profit!

Zoya Akhtar's much-talked film "The Archies" has been released on the OTT platform Netflix this week (7 December). What is the thinking of skilled director Zoya Akhtar, writer Reema Kagti, and lyricist Javed Akhtar about releasing this film on the OTT platform instead of theater release and what is the fear of not releasing it in theatres? This has not been revealed. An enlightened viewer on social media has estimated that if this film had been released in theaters a week before its OTT release, the producer could have earned an additional amount of Rs 100 crore.

The Archies: Teen Musical Drama Business Insights

Before knowing the business mathematics of 'The Archies', let us tell you what is there in this film. Based on the internationally renowned comic book 'The Archies', it is a teen musical drama set in the sixties. The story begins with Archie Andrews narrating the history of his fictional town 'Riverdale'. After independence, a few Anglo-Indians remained in Riverdale where there is a place called Green Park. Archie (Agastya Nanda) is an ordinary 17-year-old boy who keeps going on new adventures with his friends. Her neighbor is her childhood sweetheart, Betty Cooper (Khushi Kapoor). Veronica Lodge (Suhana Khan) returns to Riverdale after two years away from London. Archie is in love with her. His other companions are Reji (Vedang Raina), Jughead (Mihir Ahuja), Dilli (Yuvraj Menda), Aithal (Dot) etc. Veronica's businessman father Haram Lodge (Ali Khan) wants to demolish the green park and build a plaza there, which will increase the problems of the people living there. What all the young children do to save the green park is an interesting story. Vinay Pathak, Koel Puri, Jamie Alter, Subhash Sharma, etc. are in supporting roles in the film.

The Archies: Star Kids' Grand Debut

The special attraction of 'The Archies' is its stars. Agastya Nanda is the grandson of Amitabh Bachchan - son of Sweta Bachchan, whom the audience has been wanting to see for a long time. Suhana Khan is the daughter of Shahrukh Khan who is going to work in a film with Shahrukh himself. She has already become a star. Khushi Kapoor is the second daughter of Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor. It has been said that she is more cheerful and bubbly than her sister Janhvi. That is, all three-star kids are already stars. Film pundits say that if this newcomer (star) had come on the big screen, the attraction of watching him would have increased manifold. OTT movies are mostly watched on small screens or mobile screens. The charm of seeing Agastya, Suhana, and Khushi on the big screen would have given more attraction to the audience.

The Archies: Potential Big Screen Blockbuster

If "The Archies" had been shown on the big screen, the business of the film would have been at least Rs 30 crore on the first day and the earnings of the film on the weekend would have been Rs 100 crore. The lifetime business of the film would have been at least Rs 250 crore, this is the business of the film. All three lead actors of the film are children of great fathers, who know how to manage business.

Those who say this, also say that if the film was released in theaters just a week before its OTT release, the producers of the film (Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, and Sharad Devarajan) could have earned an additional amount of Rs 100 crore. Even if the film was released in theaters along with the OTT release, the producer would have benefited more because watching it in a film theater is a different pleasure.

However, before working on 'The Archie', Zoya Akhtar had taken advice from her father Javed Akhtar (lyricist), and brother Farhan Akhtar (who has written the dialogues) and said that the film would be released on OTT. But perhaps at that time, she had no idea that the star kid she chose to work with in the Archie comic story was not an ordinary child. They were already a star before doing the film. It is being said that Zoya underestimated her film.

-Sharad Rai

Tags : the-archies | ott-platform | suhana-khan | agastya-nanda | khushi-kapoor | zoya-akhtar | ott-release

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