Ekta Kapoor acquires Varun Dhawan, Sara Ali Khan's Coolie No 1 theatrical rights for this amount

Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Productions has acquired the theatrical rights of Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan's upcoming movie Coolie No 1. The industry has pinned high hopes on the comedy entertainer and the deal was struck before the lockdown came into effect.

Going by a report on Bollywood Hungama, Balaji Productions has acquired the distribution rights for approximately Rs 50 crore. "It's a fresh film with Varun, Sara, and a huge ensemble with Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Javed Jaffery to name some. It has fetched approximately Rs 50 crore from Balaji for the distribution of the film in India. The deal was struck before the coronavirus pandemic and there lies a chance of renegotiating it, depending on the on-ground scenario closer to the film's release," the website quotes a source as saying.

The release of Coolie No 1 has been delayed due to the lockdown which was imposed by the government across the country over coronavirus outbreak in March. With no signs of reopening of cinema halls, the Bollywood film will not hit the screens anytime soon.

"New year is the best time for comedy to arrive as people can get back to the cinema hall to experience a lot of laughter. It's a typical David Dhawan comedy with colourful songs," the source adds.

The Varun Dhawan-starrer should cross Rs 110 crore at the box office for breakeven point. Before the lockdown came into effect, crossing this mark was not a difficult task, but the trade is sceptical whether it could achieve the numbers in the post-lockdown situation.

The upcoming movie is the remake of the film of the same name which starred Govinda and Karisma Kapoor. David Dhawan, the creator of the original, is collaborating with his son again after Main Tera Hero and Judwaa 2.