The makers of Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi starrer 'Merry Christmas' announced a new release date of the film. The film will be hitting the theatres on December 15, locking horns with Sidharth Malhotra starrer 'Yodha' at the box office. The latter is backed by Dharma Productions. The head honcho Karan Johar took to the newly launched social media platform, Threads, to pen a cryptic note expressing his displeasure of films announcing a clashing release date without informing in advance. The note comes just hours after it was announced that Merry Christmas will release on December 15, the same day as Yodha.
“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," Karan Johar wrote. The filmmaker appeared to be taking a jibe at Tips Films and Matchbox Pictures, the team behind Merry Christmas. For the unversed, Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions had locked December 15 for Yodha. The announced the release date earlier this month. “Re-fueled and ready to soar! #YODHA - the first action film of the franchise headlined by Sidharth Malhotra and directed by debutant duo Sagar Ambre & Pushkar Ojha - lands in cinemas on 15th DECEMBER, 2023. The film also stars Disha Patani & Raashii Khanna in lead roles," the production house said in a statement released on Instagram. The story revolves around an airplane hi-jack and marks the directorial debuts of Sagar Amre and Pushkar Ojha. It is to see if the films clash or if the release dates of either projects change. Meanwhile, Merry Christmas is headlined by Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif and boasts of a stellar starcast. The Hindi version co-stars Sanjay Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Pratima Kannan, and Tinnu Anand, while the Tamil version has Radhika Sarathkumar, Shanmugaraja, Kevin Jay Babu, and Rajesh Williams in the same roles.