Bhooth Bangla Opening Day Box Office Expectations: Akshay Kumar Starrer Heads To Open On Par With Jolly LLB 3

Mumbai, April 16 - One of the most iconic actor-director combos of Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan reunite after 16 years for the horror-comedy Bhooth Bangla, which begins its theatrical rollout with paid previews on April 16 from 9 PM, before the full-fledged release on April 17.

The duo of Akshay and Priyadarshan has delivered some of the cult comedies, and the expectations are high for Bhooth Bangla. Trade is positive about the film's box office outcome, while being cautious about not overestimating the film's box office potential.

The advance booking of Bhooth Bangla opened 4 days before the release. While there was no initial rush in booking tickets, the pre-sales for the film are seeing some momentum going into the last day before the full-fledged release. As of 3 PM on April 16, the film has grossed 5.50+ crores (with block seats) for the opening day, including around 2 crores from the premiere alone.

The pre-sales trend of Bhooth Bangla, although it is not strong to the level of expectations, is decent enough to keep the film on track for a double-digit start. As per trade estimates and booking trends, the film is heading towards opening in the range of Akshay's last film, Jolly LLB 3.

The courtroom comedy, which was released last year, opened to 12.50 crores net from 6+ crore gross pre-sales. Bhooth Bangla will be finishing with 7+ crore gross in advance sales, including the premiere. Plus, the horror-comedy genre is an advantage for Priyadarshan's directorial, which is expected to take the opening of 12-15 crores net, including paid previews.

Initially, trade was anticipating 20 crore net start, but the mixed reception to its trailer and songs affected the pre-release buzz. However, on a positive side, the opening of 12-15 crores net will be a decent result compared to what it might have been had it been released a week earlier, as initially planned. The makers took a wise decision to move the release by a week to keep enough gap with Dhurandhar 2, which has been dominating the box office since its release on March 19.

Stay tuned...