Empty theatres plague Brahmastra despite the hype; moviegoers say 'Public response clear'

Brahmastra - one of the most hyped Bollywood releases of recent times, directed by Aryan Mukherjee and starring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, has finally released on September 9 (Thursday). The star cast of the movie has been engaged in heavy promotions for months now, often even running into controversy, for what has always been touted as the first part of a 'verse' wherein Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva is supposed to be the first. However, the success of the fabled part 1 is hardly a certainty if the visuals of empty theatres on a long weekend are anything to go by. 

Amid and irrespective of the ongoing 'boycott Bollywood' trend over various issues related to various films including Brahmastra, the movie seems to have been unable to rope in audiences on day one as the pictures of empty theatres went viral. Netizens shared pictures of vacant seats on social media: One of them said it's scary to watch the movie in an empty theatre whereas another user said only 7 people watching the film in the multiplex with 300+ capacity.

Notably, Brahmastra has also impacted the big multiplex chains, which have seen share prices tank and investor wealth destroyed parallel to the film getting a massive release.

Netizens share pictures of empty theatres for Brahmastra

Numerous netizens took to their official Twitter handles and shared screenshots of zero seats booked online.

‘Boycott Brahmastra’ continues to trend on Twitter

Meanwhile, the 'Boycott Brahmastra' hashtag continues to rapidly trend on Twitter, which has been a feature for several days now. While occasionally there have been counter-trends, for the moment, it appears that the tepid response to the film has drowned them out. 

'Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva' features celebrity couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt in the lead, and also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna Akkineni, and Mouni Roy in pivotal roles. Helmed by Ayan Mukerji who has always touted it as his 'magnum opus', the movie has been released in five languages - Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.

Movie analyst Taran Adarsh also posted a review on Twitter stating that the film was quite disappointing with low content and no soul. He gave the film two stars while stating the film missed an opportunity to be a game changer. 

From political circles, Abhishek Manu Singhvi contrasted the first film of the planned trilogy with successful big-budget sagas from elsewhere. 

(Image: Instagram-Ayan_Mukherjee/Twitter)