Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s epic historical drama Padmaavat is finally scheduled to be released on January 25 after many hassles and controversies. The film not only gave way to a nationwide debate but also changed the landscape of Bollywood in terms of box office clashes.

Padmaavat, which was earlier scheduled to be released on December 1, 2017, was postponed due to Karni Sena’s protests, alleging that the film has distorted history and hurt the sentiments of the Rajput community, leaving a question mark over the film’s fate.

Finally, on January 15th, the film got its release date after CBFC cleared the film with some cuts and changes.

Apparently, Padmaavat‘s release date changed the course of action for many films and the makers of film are ensuring that it gets a solo release as there is a lot at stake. This is for the first time that one film has made other film’s change their release date so that there is no clash with Bhansali’s epic film.

Padmaavat vs Aiyaary vs Pad Man

The first two films to announce their release dates around Republic Day were Aiyaary and Pad Man. Aiyaary featuring Sidharth Malhotra and Manoj Bajpayee was scheduled to release on January 26 and Akshay Kumar’s Pad Man chose January 25. Things became more complicated when Padmaavat got its release date on January 25, hence, creating a triple clash at the box office.

#Padmaavat, releasing on 25th January 2018 in theatres near you. Now also in 3D, Imax 3D, Tamil & Telugu. @RanveerOfficial @deepikapadukone @shahidkapoor @aditiraohydari @Viacom18Movies @Bhansali_Prod @TSeries https://t.co/SAb0qMD6ig

— Padmaavat (@filmpadmaavat) January 19, 2018

This republic week, watch our Pagla Superhero become famous! #PadMan in cinemas on 25th January. https://t.co/RadMK4xpyr

Book your tickets here: https://t.co/95hsi9MuFE pic.twitter.com/wWm4sL44Dk

— KriArj Entertainment (@kriarj) January 19, 2018

Only 3 weeks left for #Aiyaary! #AiyaaryIn3Weeks#Aiyaary in cinemas on 26.01.18
@neerajpofficial @BajpayeeManoj @S1dharthM @Rakulpreet @Pooja_Chopra_ @AnupamPkher #NaseeruddinShah @_AdilHussain @ShitalBhatiaFFW @RelianceEnt @FFW_Official @PlanC_Studios pic.twitter.com/3LhqHNwfxK

— Aiyaary (@aiyaary) January 5, 2018

Aiyaary pushes release date to February 9

It’s OFFICIAL… #Aiyaary shifted to 9 Feb 2018… Neeraj Pandey directs… Stars Sidharth Malhotra, Manoj Bajpayee, Rakul Preet Singh, Pooja Chopra, Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher.

A post shared by Taran Adarsh (@taranadarsh) on Jan 8, 2018 at 3:01am PST

Director Neeraj Pandey realised that not only the business of his espionage thriller will suffer in this bout but also there is no point of clashing with two films at the same time. The makers of Aiyaary withdrew from what was supposed to be the biggest Bollywood clash ever and shifted the release date of their film to February 9 from January 26. Now, it was Padmaavat vs Pad Man on January 25 at the box office.

Bhansali urges Akshay to push release date of Pad Man

On January 19 at Verosova Festival in Mumbai, Bhansali and Akshay held a special press conference for media to announce that the makers of Pad Man have decided to shift their release date to February 9. Reason? Mutual respect1 Akshay, who is close friends with Bhansali, understood the need of why Padmaavat should get a solo release date on January 25 and made the decision of shifting his film’s release date instantly.

#BreakingNews: #PadMan postponed… Shifted to 9 Feb 2018.

A post shared by Taran Adarsh (@taranadarsh) on Jan 19, 2018 at 5:00am PST

Back to ‘Aiyaary’ vs ‘Pad Man’

While Padmaavat is now scheduled for solo release on January 25, Akshay’s decision landed back him to the initial point. Clash with Pandey’s Aiyaary. The makers of Aiyaary are now going to face its former competition on a date which they booked first. Pad Man and Aiyaary is back against each other at the box office. Apparently, the happenings in B-town because of these three films has made it quite problematic for another film, whose release date has been postponed for an indefinite period of time.

Looks like you’ll have to wait a couple of weeks longer to witness our #Aiyaary. Now in cinemas on Feb 9https://t.co/UVW6YvTYiv#AiyaaryReleasingOnFeb9 @aiyaary @S1dharthM @BajpayeeManoj @Rakulpreet @Pooja_Chopra_ @AnupamPkher @ShitalBhatiaFFW

— Neeraj Pandey (@neerajpofficial) January 13, 2018

Get ready for #PadMan, coming to theatres on 9th February, 2018.@akshaykumar @sonamakapoor @radhika_apte @mrsfunnybones @SonyPicsIndia @kriarj #RBalki pic.twitter.com/ldwO5orTOb

— Pad Man (@PadManTheFilm) January 19, 2018

… Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (SKTKS) suffers

‘Sonu Ke…‘ featuring Kartik Aryan and Nushrat Bharucha was scheduled for release on February 9 before all this confusion. But with Padmaavat‘s release date things indeed changed for all these films. When Aiyaaryannounced February 9 as its release date, SKTKS had to face a tough competition from Pandey’s spy thriller. But the film’s release date changed when Akshay made the announcement of Pad Man releasing on February 9. So, now it’s Aiyaary vs Pad Man vs SKTKS! But to avoid such a big clash with two prominent films, the makers of the film decided to postpone their date from February 9. For now, SKTKS has no official release date as of now.

#LatestUpdate… #SonuKeTituKiSweety, which was slated for 9 Feb 2018 release, has not moved its date yet… The film, starring Kartik Aaryan, Nushrat Bharucha and Sunny Singh, will be releasing along with #Padman and #Aiyaary.

A post shared by Taran Adarsh (@taranadarsh) on Jan 19, 2018 at 9:06pm PST

Probably it’s safe to say that Padmaavat indeed changed the landscape of Bollywood’s box office clashes.