Ranbir Kapoor says he doesn't take Brahmastra advance booking figures seriously: 'We'll know where we are on Friday'

The advance booking numbers of Brahmastra may be soaring but Ranbir Kapoor advises not to take them too seriously before the film releases.

Brahmastra is less than a day away from release, and so far the advance booking numbers are quite healthy. Trade analysts are predicting the film will break pandemic-era records of openings for Hindi films. However, the film’s lead actor Ranbir Kapoor isn’t too enthused by the solid advance booking trends. In a recent interaction, he asked everyone not to take these figures seriously.

Ranbir Kapoor during a press conference for the promotion of his upcoming film Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva, in Delhi, Sept. 7, 2022. (PTI)

On Wednesday, the team of Brahmastra--director Ayan Mukerji and actors Alia Bhatt and Ranbir--were in Delhi where they held a press conference while promoting the film. During the meet, Ranbir was asked how he felt seeing the good advance booking numbers for the film and predictions that it would turn the fortunes of the industry. Ranbir replied, “We cannot take these figures and all seriously because till the audience doesn’t see the film, the game doesn’t begin. The film is made for the audience. I think on Friday, we will get to know where we are, kitne paani ke andar hain (how well we will fare). But the feeling is, of course, positive. We have come as Shah Rukh Khan from Dilwale Le Jaayenge, asking you, ‘come watch our movie!’ That’s all.”

Ranbir Kapoor added that his co-star and wife Alia, however, was very much into the whole advance bookings and predictions business. “The most excited is Alia now. She is a trade analyst now. She is noting everything, this much is open here, this is the response there.” He then added that he was fortunate to spend these last few, tense days before the film’s release with Alia and Ayan. “But actually, we have got our friend Ayan only yesterday. Till yesterday, he was working on the film. We always wanted to have this shared experience, spend these days together, feel every emotion. So yes, it’s a very exciting time,” Ranbir added.

Till Wednesday night, Brahmastra had seen advance bookings of ₹23 crore across India in all languages for its first weekend. This includes tickets worth ₹11 crore sold for the opening day alone. The bulk of the advance bookings are for the Hindi version but the Telugu version has also contributed around ₹1 crore in the figures. These are the best advance booking figures for any Bollywood film in the pandemic era.

Brahmastra is mounted on a massive ₹410 crore budget and is one of the biggest Indian films of all time. Officially titled Brahmastra Part One: Shiva, the film is the first part of a planned trilogy and the beginning of a new cinematic universe called Astraverse. It releases worldwide on Friday.