Dabangg 2 stars Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha during a promotional in Mumbai. (PTI)

If Dabangg broke box office records, Dabangg 2 is creating a trend that Patna has never seen before.

As the corrupt yet loveable Chulbul Pandey gets ready to rock the capital with the sequel of one of the biggest money churners of 2010, Dabangg 2 is fast changing the trend of ticket sales in the capital.

For the first time in Patna, advance bookings for the Arbaaz Khan film started a week before its release on December 21. This, industry watchers believe, is a drift from the past.

Cinepolis opened its counters for advance bookings last Saturday, Mona theatre on Sunday and Regent on Monday. Usually for Friday releases, the advance booking starts on Wednesdays. However, the craze for the sequel has not stopped here. Dabangg 2 has even changed the dynamics of movie business in Patna.

Till Dabangg 2, a film that was being screened at Regent was not run at Mona and vice-versa. For the first time, again, both the theatres, located adjacent to each other, have decided to run five shows each on their respective screens.

So what is it that has pushed theatre owners to make the logistical changes to accommodate the film in the show schedule?

“Dabangg is a brand now. We are sure that it will cross the Rs 200-crore mark at least. Salman has a tremendous fan following in Patna and so has Sonakshi (Sinha). There is no question of people not liking it,” said Abhishek Ranjan, the manager of Cinepolis.

The multiplex would run 10 shows daily. This would be the highest in terms of number of shows after Agneepath, which bagged 23 shows daily.

Regent owner Suman Kumar Sinha said youths are coming in groups for advance tickets.

“Around 80 per cent of the tickets have been booked for the first day, for the matinee and evening shows of Saturday and Sunday. We have opened the counters so early for the first time,” he said, adding that the film would be an instant hit.

Talking about tickets, can the buyers be far behind?

A “true Salman bhai fan”, SK Puri resident Pramod Sharma stood in the queue for hours to get the best seats on the first day.

“I have bought five tickets of Dabangg 2. It would be a day-out with friends,” he said.

“After watching the film’s trailor, it seems it would be better than the first. Also, Fevicol girl Kareena Kapoor Khan is a must-watch on the big screen. It would be unfair to watch her on television,” Sharma added, showing the five “priceless” tickets he has purchased.

Cinepolis manager Abhishek Ranjan elaborated how the sequel has come as a jackpot for theatre owners.

“Around 40 per cent seats are already full. Not to forget, there’s three more days left before the release,” Ranjan said.