The much awaited Vijay starrer, Beast, was released in cinemas on April 13. The film had generated considerable hype due to the smashing trailer, the super-hit song ‘Arabic Kuthu’ and the presence of the superstar, Vijay. His previous film Master (2021) was a big hit and it was expected that Beast would follow suit. Beast managed to open at a huge Rs. 26 crore in the home state, Tamil Nadu. Sadly, due to the negative word of mouth, the film has dropped considerably from day 2.
Beast managed a wide release not just in Tamil Nadu, but also outside the home state. It has now come to light that there were plans to release Beast in additional screens. A source told Bollywood Hungama, “The producers of the film desired to play Beast in the IMAX screens in India. The norm is to convert a movie into the IMAX version and then release it in the IMAX theatres. In the case of Beast, the plan was to play the film on the big IMAX screens without converting it. Many films have often been released this way when the IMAX screens are not playing any IMAX-compatible films.”
Sadly, the plan couldn’t materialize. The source revealed, “KGF – Chapter 2 was already scheduled to be released in cinemas on April 14. It has been converted to IMAX and was booked in advance in the IMAX screens. And looking at the hype, it was scheduled to be played in all shows in these theatres.”
The source continued, “Still, the makers tried to release Beast in IMAX screens for a day, as their film was released on April 13, a day before KGF – Chapter 2’s release. Even this couldn’t happen as Warner Bros had booked all IMAX screens till April 13 for their fantasy film, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore. It was released from the evening of April 7 onwards. Knowing that KGF – Chapter 2 will take up IMAX screens before the completion of one week, Warner was adamant that they’ll want their film to play in IMAX till April 13. As a result, the IMAX plan was dropped for Beast.”
Bollywood Hungama, in December 2021, had broken the story that the producers of sports biopic, ’83, desired to convert their film into an IMAX version and play it in IMAX screens. However, IMAX officials in North America declined their request as it was released in the same period as Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Matrix Resurrections. Both these films were released in the IMAX versions and IMAX management does not encourage the release of too many IMAX films in the same period.
The source, on this, said, “There’s no confirmation if Beast makers had approached the IMAX team in America. What is sure is that they wanted their biggie to be played on the big IMAX screens.”