Entertainment Desk:

Shakib Khan’s upcoming film “Borbaad” is setting new records ahead of its release, securing the highest booking fee among Eid releases this year. With theatre bookings already underway, the much-anticipated film has cleared earlier uncertainties, and the cast and crew are now fully focused on release preparations.

The film’s producer Shahrin Akter Sumi confirmed that talks have been finalised with around 100 cinema halls for the release. Although this number may slightly decrease, she added that more halls are likely to be added soon. The final count will be confirmed within the next couple of days.

The producer further stated, “There are fewer cinema halls during Eid. Ideally, we would benefit financially if we could release the film in every available hall. But that’s not possible—nor is it reasonable. Other films are releasing too, and they deserve a fair share of the space. That said, we’re confident that ‘Borbaad’ will be screened in over a hundred halls.”

Meanwhile, it is being reported that the booking fee for “Borbaad” has surpassed that of Shakib Khan’s previous films. In fact, this Dhallywood star’s latest release is setting a new record for Eid film bookings.

When asked about the per-theatre booking amount, the producer said, “It’s not possible to charge the same amount from all cinemas. Some halls are smaller, some larger. Moreover, the film business hasn’t been doing well for quite some time. That’s why we’ve set tiered booking fees based on the size and capacity of each hall.”

For an Eid release, this fee is significantly higher than any other recent Dhallywood film. According to sources within the production company, the demand for Borbad among cinema owners is exceptionally high.

They believe that Shakib Khan’s film could help recover months of financial losses. As a result, many are willing to pay a substantial amount for screening rights.

“From the larger cinema halls, we’re taking a booking fee ranging between Tk 13 to 15 lakh,” the Sumi added.

Some claim that half of the film’s investment has already been recovered through booking fees. Addressing this, the producer stated that it is extremely difficult to recover 50 percent of the budget solely from bookings.

The budget for “Borbaad” stands at Tk 15 crore. The film is directed by Mehedi Hasan, popularly known as Hridoy. Opposite Shakib Khan, the film stars Kolkata-based actress Idhika Paul.

It is worth mentioning that earlier, sources from the production industry had reported the highest booking fee for the film “Toofan” ranged between Tk 7 to 12 lakh.

That was considered the record at the time. However, some had claimed the booking fee reached as high as Tk 15 lakh. The production company, however, did not confirm those figures.