Brahmastra wipes out over ₹800 crore wealth of PVR and Inox investors

Brahmastra, the first installment in the Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt starrer trilogy, has opened to tepid reviews from analysts and viewers. Weak reviews have tanked shares of India’s biggest theater chains, PVR and Inox. The movie with an ensemble cast has been in the making for years and its budget is said to be ₹410 crore.

Forget making back its money, it looks like Brahmastra is taking down investors of PVR and Inox with itself. With early reviews pouring cold water on Brahmastra’s prospects, India’s largest theater chains PVR and Inox have cumulatively lost over ₹800 crore in market capitalization today.

In Indian mythology, Brahmastra is known as a weapon of unstoppable destruction, which can only be stopped by its counterattack astra (weapon). Ironically, the movie could end up being a victim of the weapon it is named after.

Brahmastra opened to tepid reviews despite healthy advance bookings worth ₹23 crore. Movie reviewer and analyst Taran Adarsh gave the Ranbir-Alia starrer a two-star rating, saying that the movie is a king-sized disappointment.

If Brahmastra tanks, it could not only be one of the biggest Bollywood flops, but it could also derail the Hindi movie industry’s hopes of a revival at a time when several South Indian movies have broken records nationwide. Made on a budget of ₹410 crore, Brahmastra has names like Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan, Tollywood star Nagarjuna, and even Shah Rukh Khan in a cameo, with Karan Johar as one of the producers. Essentially, this is the who’s who of the Indian film industry, packed with immense firepower.

Some viewers also made interesting observations. “It’s basically a badly written Crime Patrol episode dialogues (sic), mixed with a very bad Ekta Kapoor plot,” one viewer said after watching the movie today.
Another viewer explained that beyond the visual effects, the movie was a hotch-potch of bad story-telling, and character development, among other issues.

While expert reviews and commentary on social media might influence Brahmastra’s collections over the weekend, word of mouth and the audience reception will decide the movie’s fate eventually.