A few hours are left for the release of They Call Him OG, starring Power Star Pawan Kalyan and the excitement is terrific. This has been proven by the fact that paid previews will be held tonight in the home market of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, along with Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and almost all of them are house full. What’s astonishing is that the tickets are sold at a whopping Rs. 800 and Rs. 1000 in the cinemas of Andhra-Telangana. Yet, the fans lightened their pockets for their favourite star. Meanwhile, Pawan Kalyan’s fans in the North faced FOMO over not getting a chance to witness the film tonight just like their counterparts down South. But the popular multiplex chain MovieMax came to their rescue. 
BREAKING: North India joins the OG mania; LAST-MINUTE paid previews of They Call Him OG sold out in no time; extra shows added to cater to INSANE demand at the eleventh hour
Yesterday, the advance booking commenced in MovieMax Amanora in Pune. Hence, in a usual scenario, it was Pune and not the more popular centres of Mumbai and Delhi where the shows of They Call Him OG were allotted first. In the afternoon today, the bookings were opened in Mumbai’s MovieMax Kanjurmarg followed by MovieMax Sion. As expected, the response was very strong, with the sole show in these cinemas getting full. The management of these cinemas were then forced to add one more show. MovieMax then also opened bookings in their two properties in Thane, looking at the response.
MovieMax Anora now has four shows and so does MovieMax Shalimar Lucknow. The other theatres where paid preview will take place tonight are MovieMax Kalyani Nagar in Pune, MovieMax in Ghaziabad, MovieMax in Noida, MovieMax Eternity in Nagpur etc. Soon, other chains also opened bookings like Rajhans in Ghatkopar, Rajhans in Fatima Nagar, Pune and MovieTime Noida.
Interestingly, the shows are getting full or nearly sold out as soon as the bookings commence in every single property in the North. As a result, expect many more cinemas to open bookings, even at the eleventh hour.
As per the data accessed by Bollywood Hungama, MovieMax has sold a huge 3,750 tickets worth Rs. 6.55 lakhs as of 6:00 pm on September 24. The figure is significant as it has come from just 10 theatres. Some 2000 tickets were sold within a couple of hours of the commencement of advance booking, that too from half the number of cinemas at present.
Challenges remain
They Call Him OG is all set to be Pawan Kalyan’s biggest opener and if the response is positive, it can turn out to be a much-needed blockbuster for the Telugu industry.
However, a few challenges remain. The ‘A’ rating might keep a section of the audience away, though the performance of other adult films like Coolie, Animal etc. has proved that it doesn’t matter much. Secondly, with the film releasing on OTT in 4 weeks, it has been shunned by the national chains in the Hindi-speaking markets in all languages. This can impact the collections.
Lastly, there have been reports that the content might not reach in time in the USA and Canada and this can also prove detrimental to overseas day 1 earnings. In fact, the team of the film made a plea to fans in the USA to help deliver the hard drives, containing the film, to cinemas!
However, all these factors won’t matter in the long run if the reports are positive. All eyes are now on how the audience reacts to They Call Him OG in the paid previews tonight, which will give a fair idea of its weekend performance and eventual lifetime.
BOLLYWOOD NEWS – LIVE UPDATES
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2025 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.
