Medium-range actors chase festival release dates, only to receive a setback. Just in recent weeks, we have at least four examples to speak of.
Nithiin's Robinhood was supposed to be a Christmas release. With Pushpa 2: The Rule setting the box office on fire, the movie had to be postponed. So also Priyadarshi's Sarangapani Jathakam. These two films didn't want to come out in a month when the first preference of the family audience was Allu Arjun's movie.
Naga Chaitanya's Thandel was aiming for either a Christmas or Sankranthi release. It could get neither. Akkineni Nagarjuna tried to influence Geetha Arts to pick a Sankranthi season date for his son's movie. But the three big releases (Game Changer, Daaku Maharaaj and Sankranthiki Vasthunam) couldn't accommodate Thandel. It is another matter that Thandel became a hit even though it was released on a non-festival date (February 7).
Sundeep Kishan's Mazaka was supposed to be a Sankranthi release. Hasya Movies had put out Sankranthi release posters officially. Had Mazaka found adequate theaters, Sundeep might probably have scored a hit. In a recent interview, he stated that he never had a festival release all his career. Mazaka is his 30th film. It has booked the Maha Shivaratri slot.
