Screenings of the Rajinikanth film Jailer 2 stopped in Canada on October 21 after a feud between York Cinemas and distributors. The cinema chain said they could not get the valid keys needed to show the movie. Fans will miss the film as the dispute remains unresolved despite their efforts.
After a dispute between Canada's York Cinemas and two North American distributors erupted, screenings of the Rajinikanth film have been halted since October 21. York Cinemas shared an official statement over why the issue could not be resolved.
Jailer 2, starring Rajinikanth as Tiger Muthuvel Pandian, has already crossed the Rs 500 crore mark globally, beating Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan 2 to become Tamil's 5th highest-grossing film. But Canadian fans will miss out on catching the Tamil sequel, directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, from October. Canada's York Cinemas put out an official statement that they would stop screenings of Jailer 2 from Wednesday amidst an ongoing dispute with the North American distributors, Shloka Entertainments and Prathyangira Cinemas. They stated that they tried to resolve the matter and get the necessary authorisation for the film; the matter has still not been issued.
Rajinikanth's Jailer 2 screenings halted in Canada
According to a report in Variety India, due to the feud between York Cinemas and the North American distributors, Shloka Entertainments and Prathyangira Cinemas in Canada, Jailer 2 screenings will have to be paused. York Cinemas apologised and shared that after Wednesday, October 21, they would not be able to screen the Tamil film due to circumstances beyond their control.
They shared that they had fulfilled all required financial commitments and payments; however, the "valid KDMs (Key Delivery Messages) required to continue screening the film have not been provided by the North American distributors, Shloka Entertainments and Prathyangira Cinemas, following the required authorisation from the production company." The cinema chain also stated in their statement that they made every effort to resolve the matter but without the authorisation they could not proceed.
After six days, Jailer 2 earned Rs 45.55 crore in India. According to Sacnilk, the sequel's worldwide gross has now reached Rs 541 crore, comprising Rs 337 crore from India and Rs 204 crore from overseas markets. The pause in screenings from Canada will definitely affect the North American earnings after Wednesday.
More about Jailer 2
The Tamil film brought back the original cast of the 2023 film Ramya Krishnan, Mirnaa, Rithwik, and Yogi Babu alongside Rajinikanth. The South superstar was joined by new cast members SJ Suryah, Mithun Chakraborty, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Vidya Balan, and Namo Narayana for the second film.
The sequel also contained plenty of starry cameos, as Mohanlal and Shiva Rajkumar also reprised their roles, while Jackie Shroff, Hrithik Roshan and Vijay Sethupathi made special appearances. After the film's release, fans expressed their disappointment over Mohanlal's screentime in the second film. They also believed that the Malayalam superstar body double Joby Kodakara had shot for scenes before the mimicry artist clarified that only one or two shots featuring parts of his hands and legs made it to the final cut.