'Merry Christmas', directed by Sriram Raghavan is?about two fascinating characters played by Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi. The noir thriller has already got us excited because of its unique plot. Audiences?are waiting with bated breath for the movie to hit the theatres on January 12. 'Merry Christmas' is releasing in three languages-Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. It's the first big movie of 2024 to be released in theatres. We spoke to producer and film business expert, Girish Johar to know?how much?'Merry Christmas' is expected to collect on Day 1. Here's what he said.?

He said, ''I believe that it's the unique blend which the film is having. It is coming from Sriram Raghavan and has Vijay Sethupathi and Katrina Kaif. So, this is a very unique combination which is what the audience is looking at. But I feel it's an urban multiplex bent film. It's in the zone of a film like Andhadhun and those kinds of films. Merry Christmas is a little towards a niche audience yet commercial.?

The trade expert also said that 'Merry Christmas'?has a great buzz among its specific target audience and will mostly rely on word of mouth.?

Talking about the Day 1 collection of 'Merry Christmas', Johar said, ''I would be happy if the film opens with anywhere between 1.5 to 2 crore to start with. Then depending on the comments, word of mouth and everything, it can pick up. On Friday evening, it can see a rise in collection but if it opens with 1.5 to 2 crore on Day 1, then there is another weekend and on weekdays, and it can capitalise and also, there are no big releases till 'Fighter'. So, it can get a good buzz, space and run''.?

On January 13, Mahesh Babu's 'Guntur Kaaram' is also releasing in theatres. It is a big movie and the Katrina-Vijay starrer will be affected by it in the South. ''Guntur Kaaram and all are hardcore mass entertainers and they are made for Tier 2 and Tier 3 audiences. While 'Merry Christmas' audience is completely metro-centric''.

On Vijay and Katrina's pairing, Girish Johar said, ''Vijay and Katrina's pairing is the uniqueness of the film and I really hope that it comes out very well.''

''Sriram is a very well-nuanced, well-established and very well-thought filmmaker. So, if the film is coming from his table, we are pretty confident that there will be something unique in it. Certain filmmakers have that confidence and imbibe that confidence. So, he has that confidence which he instils and his fan following is also very robust and so also of Viay and Katrina. I really hope they do the trick and we have a good start to 2024,'' he added.?