'Srimanthudu', 'Baahubali', 'Rudhramadevi'
'Srimanthudu', 'Baahubali', 'Rudhramadevi'Facebook

The producers of superstar Mahesh Babu's "Srimanthudu" have finally postponed its release date to pave way for big-ticket movies such as SS Rajamouli's "Baahubali" and Gunasekhar's "Rudhramadevi" to rock at the box office.

Initially, "Srimanthudu" was scheduled to release in theatres on 17 July. After "Baahubali" makers announced to release it on 10 July, it was rumoured that the release of the movie had been delayed to avoid clash with "Baahubali" at the box office. But, director Koratala Siva confirmed that there was no change in the release of the Mahesh Babu starrer and it would hit the screens as per schedule.

"Baahubali", "Srimanthudu" and "Rudhramadevi" have been made with a whopping budget of ₹200 crore, ₹50 crore and ₹60 crore and were set to release in theatres across the globe back-to-back on 10, 17 and 24 July, respectively. The hype surrounding these movies has made their distribution rights expensive. The distributors are hoping to reap huge profits from their theatrical run.

But the back-to-back release of "Baahubali", "Srimanthudu" and "Rudhramadevi" had come as big surprise for many in the industry. Trade analysts in film nagar predicted if the back-to-back release is not avoided, all the three films are sure to eat away each other's share and end up incurring huge amounts of loss to their producers and distributors.

Trade analysts in film nagar had expressed big concern over the prospects of period movies, "Baahubali" and "Rudhramadevi", which are made on a grand scale and their stars' power is lesser, when compared to that of "Srimanthudu". They had opined that the makers of the Mahesh Babu starrer should delay its release to encourage the producers of the other two films.

Finally, the makers of "Srimanthudu" seem to have understood their financial concerns. On Wednesday evening, they held a press conference to announce the postponement of its release date. Now, the Koratala Siva-directed film will grace the cinema halls on 7 August, which interestingly happens to be the birthday of Mahesh Babu. So, the movie will be a grand treat for Prince's fans.

Sources from the industry claim that distributors of "Srimanthudu", who bought its theatrical rights for a record price, were bit concerned over this back-to-back release of the big-ticket movies. They put pressure on its producers either to postpone its release or to re-negotiate the price of its distribution rights.