MUMBAI: “Shootout At Wadala” will hit the big screens next year on May 1, which is celebrated as International Workers’ Day and Labour Day.

The multi-starrer, which was earlier scheduled for release in December this year, will thus get a clear five-day weekend to set the box office ringing.

The movie, co-produced by Balaji Motion Pictures and White Feather Films, is a screen adaptation of Mumbai police’s first registered gun battle with gangster Manya Surve.

Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Ronit Roy, Sonu Sood, Manoj Bajpayee, Tusshar Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut form the cast of the crime thriller.

Producer Ekta Kapoor wanted the best possible dates for the film.

“When I recently watched the rushes, I was blown away. It’s such an engaging and powerful film. With its content and massive star cast, topped by the kind of marketing push that the Balaji team will give, we need a long weekend for the film. It is a supreme mass entertainer and we will hype it to the hilt,” Ekta said in a statement.

There is also a special reason why May 1 is the chosen day.

“May 1 is Labour Day. Manya Surve, our lead protagonist, is a Maharashtrian from a work-oriented middle-class family whose life takes a precarious turn,” said director Sanjay Gupta.

Earlier, Gupta had said the team behind the underworld drama decided to push the release of the film to next year to avoid a clash with biggies like Aamir Khan’s “Talaash” and Salman Khan-starrer “Dabangg 2”.