Merry Christmas vs Yodha release clash: Katrina Kaif, Vijay Sethupathi starrer preponed, and so is Sidharth Malhotra's actioner

The release clash between Merry Christmas vs Yodha is seemingly hard to avert. After the makers of Merry Christmas preponed the film's release by a week, team Yodha too shifted the release. Read on to know when Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi starrer Merry Christmas and Sidharth Malhotra's actioner Yodha will hit the screens.

Hyderabad: Sriram Raghavan's upcoming film Merry Christmas, featuring Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi in lead roles, has been preponed. Initially planned for a December 15, 2023 release in both Hindi and Tamil languages, the movie will now debut a week earlier, on December 8, 2023. This adjustment was made strategically to avoid a potential clash with the eagerly anticipated film Yodha, starring Sidharth Malhotra. However, the makers of Yodha too shifted film's relese to December 8. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh made the announcement regarding Merry Christmas and Yodha the release date change on October 3, 2023.

• KATRINA KAIF - VIJAY SETHUPATHI: ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ TO ARRIVE ONE WEEK EARLY... 8 Dec 2023 is the new release date of #MerryChristmas, which teams #KatrinaKaif and #VijaySethupathi for the first time.#MerryChristmas - directed by #SriramRaghavan - is shot in two languages… pic.twitter.com/GPyGmCIQMI

  — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) October 3, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  KATRINA KAIF - VIJAY SETHUPATHI: ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ TO ARRIVE ONE WEEK EARLY... 8 Dec 2023 is the new release date of #MerryChristmas, which teams #KatrinaKaif and #VijaySethupathi for the first time.#MerryChristmas - directed by #SriramRaghavan - is shot in two languages… pic.twitter.com/GPyGmCIQMI

  — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) October 3, 2023

  ">

  KATRINA KAIF - VIJAY SETHUPATHI: ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ TO ARRIVE ONE WEEK EARLY... 8 Dec 2023 is the new release date of #MerryChristmas, which teams #KatrinaKaif and #VijaySethupathi for the first time.#MerryChristmas - directed by #SriramRaghavan - is shot in two languages… pic.twitter.com/GPyGmCIQMI

  — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) October 3, 2023

The decision to advance the release dates is seemingly to provide Merry Christmas and Yodha a more favorable release window, as there are no major Hindi films scheduled for release on December 8. However, it's important to note that the film will still face competition from two other significant releases on December 1: Animal, featuring Ranbir Kapoor, and Sam Bahadur, starring Vicky Kaushal. Nevertheless, the makers of Merry Christmas are banking on the star power of Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi to draw audiences to theaters.

Merry Christmas is backed by Ramesh Taurani, Jaya Taurani, Sanjay Routray, and Kewal Garg. A unique aspect of the film is that it has been shot in both Hindi and Tamil, with distinct supporting casts for each version. In the Hindi version, notable actors such as Sanjay Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Pratima Kannan, and Tinnu Anand play important roles.

• SIDHARTH MALHOTRA: 'YODHA' RELEASE ADVANCED BY ONE WEEK... #Yodha - starring #SidharthMalhotra, #DishaPatani and #RaashiiKhanna - will now arrive in *cinemas* on 8 Dec 2023… Directed by #SagarAmbre and #PushkarOjha.
  
  Produced by #HirooYashJohar, #KaranJohar, #ApoorvaMehta and… pic.twitter.com/atkz8J1QAw

  — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) October 3, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  SIDHARTH MALHOTRA: 'YODHA' RELEASE ADVANCED BY ONE WEEK... #Yodha - starring #SidharthMalhotra, #DishaPatani and #RaashiiKhanna - will now arrive in *cinemas* on 8 Dec 2023… Directed by #SagarAmbre and #PushkarOjha.
  
  Produced by #HirooYashJohar, #KaranJohar, #ApoorvaMehta and… pic.twitter.com/atkz8J1QAw

  — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) October 3, 2023

  ">

  SIDHARTH MALHOTRA: 'YODHA' RELEASE ADVANCED BY ONE WEEK... #Yodha - starring #SidharthMalhotra, #DishaPatani and #RaashiiKhanna - will now arrive in *cinemas* on 8 Dec 2023… Directed by #SagarAmbre and #PushkarOjha.
  
  Produced by #HirooYashJohar, #KaranJohar, #ApoorvaMehta and… pic.twitter.com/atkz8J1QAw

  — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) October 3, 2023

In contrast, the Tamil version features a different ensemble cast, including Radhika Sarathkumar, Shanmugaraja, Kevin Jay Babu, and Rajesh Williams, portraying equivalent characters. Viewers can also look forward to cameo appearances by Ashwini Kalsekar and Radhika Apte, which adds an extra layer of intrigue to the project.

Meanwhile, Yodha is bankrolled by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions while it will mark the directorial debut of Sagar Ambre and Pushkar Ojha. Sidharth aside, the film also stars Disha Patani and Raashii Khanna in pivotal roles.

READ | Vijay Sethupathi opens up on Merry Christmas plot, working with Katrina Kaif