Sidharth Malhotra in the Yodha poster (L). Merry Christmas. (R) (Courtesy: Twitter, TaranAdarsh)
Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi'sMerry Christmas will go head-to-head with Sidharth Malhotra's Yodhaat the box office. Both the films will be released in theatres on December 8. On Tuesday, trade analyst Taran Adarsh in a post on X (earlier called Twitter), revealed that Merry Christmas will arrive a week early. The film, directed by Sriram Raghavan, marks Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi's first project together. Taran Adarsh wrote, “Katrina Kaif-Vijay Sethupathi: Merry Christmas to arrive one week early...December 8, 2023 is the new release date of Merry Christmas, which teams Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi for the first time. Merry Christmas - directed by Sriram Raghavan - is shot in two languages [Hindi and Tamil] with different supporting actors. Produced by Ramesh Taurani, Jaya Taurani, Sanjay Routray and Kewal Garg. Tips Films Matchbox Pictures.”
Hours after the announcement, Karan Johar said that Sidharth Malhotra's Yodha will also hit the cinemas on December 8.
Yodha was slated to release on December 15. But,Merry Christmas had later booked the same slot. At that time, Karan Johar had shared a cryptic note on Threads saying that clashing on a date without informing in advance is not the way forward. The filmmaker wrote, “Clashing on a date without the courtesy of a phone call is hopefully not the way forward for the studios and producers… If we don't stand united in these tough and challenging theatrical days then calling us a fraternity is futile.”
Originally, Merry Christmas was scheduled to be released on December 23. Later, the date was shifted to December 15. Apart from Merry Christmas vs Yodha, fans will witness another star-studded clash in December as Shah Rukh Khan's Dunki and Prabhas' Salaar are eyeing a Christmas release.