The biggest big screen return of Major Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri (Sunny Deol) faced a major setback on its opening day. Thousands of ticket-bought fans who had reserved tickets for 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM “First Day First Show” were rejected at the cinema by the technical problem that the content had not arrived.
The Reason: A 192-Minute Download Race
It has been reported that the final cut of the film was not sent for distribution to the theaters until late Thursday night. UFO Moviez and other digital delivery platforms reportedly notified exhibitors that the content download would begin at around 6:30 AM on Friday morning. When considering the film is for 192 minutes (3 hours and 12 minutes), the digital file size is really large. It can take 3 to 4 hours per cinema to download and ingest the content into the theater servers as trade insiders figure out, with varying bandwidth usage.
This logistical “tightrope” rendered many multiplexes and single screens not physically feasible in early morning screenings. Frustration at the Box Office. In places like Mumbai (Borivali and Andheri) and Delhi-NCR, and in Raipur, patrons of the cinema were greeted with “show cancelled” announcements.
Although most of the theatres were generous in issuing full refunds or did offer to cater for fans in the late afternoon, it had not been communicated to the fans and so they were left frustrated. "We have been waiting for this sequel for 29 years. I got there at 7:30 AM and was informed the movie hasn’t got to the theater yet. The biggest mismanagement the makers committed," according to one fan outside a Mumbai multiplex.
Present Date: Shows Are Starting Back Up
The good news for fans is that the technical hurdle was mostly cleared by mid-morning; most theaters in India were able to resume screenings from 10:30 AM (or 12:00 PM slots). Even after a bumpy start, analysts forecast a huge opening for Border 2. Prior advance bookings already passed ₹12 crore and the movie could still pull in a dazzling ₹32–35 crore on the first day, with the Republic Day long weekend helping.
Directed by Anurag Singh, the film features Sunny Deol, alongside Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh and Ahan Shetty. Although the morning shows delivered a ‘borderline’ disaster, the glowing buzzers from late-morning audiences indicate the film is going to be a blockbuster.
