SRK-starrer Pathaan leaked online on piracy websites

A day prior to the much-awaited release Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham-starrer Pathaan, the film has already appeared on several pirated websites like TamilRockers, Filmyzilla, Filmy4wap and others.

The Siddharth Anand directorial has been illegally leaked online despite an anti-piracy plea by the actors and the film’s producers Yash Raj Film. The entire star-cast of the film appealed to the audiences to catch the film in the hall and "fight against piracy".

However, despite the film being leaked online, the film has already been declared a 'blockbuster' based purely on the advance-booking numbers. Most movie-halls are booked-out for the entire week starting Wednesday.

Several exhibitors increased the number of shows after witnessing the audience’s positive reaction to the film’s first day first show. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh reports that around 300 shows have been added after the massive first day first show turn-out. The total screen count of Pathaan, including India and other countries, now is 8,000 screens worldwide across Hindi, Tamil and Telugu formats.

Unprecedented: Pathaan shows increased, screen count all-time highest (Hindi)," tweeted Taran Adarsh, "Pathaan has taken BO by storm. 300 shows increased by exhibitors right after first show. Total screen count is now 8,000 screens worldwide. India: 5,500 screens , overseas: 2,500 screens," he adds.

Pathaan is out in theatres from Wednesday, January 25, and fans are thronging cinema halls in celebration of SRK’s comeback on the big screen after a gap of four long years. Fans of the superstar have also organised over 200 special screening in several cities in India. January 25 has been declared 'Pathaan Day' by the actor's fans.

After the critical and commercial failure of his 2018 film Zero, Khan had taken a step back to reassess his career. Last year, he appeared in cameos in three films — Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, Laal Singh Chaddha, and Brahmastra.

Moreover, the film has attracted a lot of conjecture based on the song 'Besharam Rang' which was released on December 12. The song triggered the nation's right-wing and Bollywood naysayers to start a #BoycottPathaan hashtag on social media and attack the film a month prior to its release.

As per reports, Pathaan has managed to sell 1,71,500 tickets at major national multiplex chains as of 6 PM today for Day 1 alone. At PVR cinemas Pathaan has sold 75,000 tickets, with INOX seeing sales of 60,500 tickets, while Cinepolis saw sales of 35,500 tickets. The film had sold tickets worth Rs 32 crore prior to release.

According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the film is expected to hit the Rs 50 crore mark on opening day alone, which would put it in touching distance of the day one figures posted by Hrithik Roshan-starrer War.