TOXIC HAS A RECORD FIRST DAY; WILL IT HOLD OVER THE WEEKEND?

The much-awaited film, Toxic, finally released on Wednesday, August 26, and opened with a bang. The Hindi version was expected to open in the range of Rs. 40 crores. Trade and industry had ruled out that the Hindi version would cross the day 1 of KGF - Chapter 2’s Hindi version, which was Rs. 52.50 crores. However, Toxic’s Hindi version did the unthinkable. It managed to earn Rs. 53.50 crores. The support from the mass centres has been extraordinary, leading to such a huge number. The collections in the original Kannada version were record-breaking. The all-India gross from all languages was around Rs. 115-120 crores.

Thursday, August 27 was a working day. As a result, a drop was expected. But the film dropped more than expected. In Hindi, the collections came down by more than 50% as it collected around Rs. 23-25 crores. The drop was even more for all-India and all-languages, around 70%.

A big reason for this drop is said to be word of mouth. Most viewers have criticized the film’s content, especially the climax. Yet, such a big drop was expected on Monday, not on the second day.

The Hindi version is holding up the best. Tomorrow is a partial holiday due to Raksha Bandhan. That may help in some way, and the weekend, too, would prove beneficial. However, the Thursday trend suggests that another shot at Rs. 50 crore in a day won’t be possible. On its fourth day, KGF - Chapter 2’s Hindi version had earned around Rs. 50 crores, as the reports were encouraging. That sadly is not the case here.

All eyes are now on Monday. That would be the real test and would indicate what the film’s lifetime would be.

AWARAPAN 2 DEFIES ALL PREDICTIONS; BATWARA OPENS BELOW EXPECTATIONS

The Independence Day weekend has begun on a bittersweet note. While Awarapan 2 is on its way to becoming a blockbuster, Batwara 1947’s opening has shocked the trade.

Awarapan 2 was expected to open at around Rs. 18-20 crores. However, the film collected a whopping Rs. 22.50 crores. Interestingly, the first part, Awarapan, earned ONLY Rs. 7.75 crores in its entire run. The reports of Awarapan 2 are positive and with today being Independence Day, the film will see another jump. But since the film opened so well on Day 1, it won’t jump dramatically on Saturday. Hence, a Rs. 30 crore Day 2 may not be possible, but the film can definitely earn somewhere around Rs. 27-28 crores.

At the same time, one never knows where the film will go from here on. It may defy expectations once again and cross the Rs. 30 crore mark on the second day as well. In 2 days, the film will collect around Rs. 50 crores and will have a weekend of around Rs. 80-85 crores. By Wednesday, it should cross the Rs. 100 crore mark. The drop on Monday will determine how much it’ll collect in its lifetime.

Meanwhile, one expected Batwara 1947 to open at Rs. 7-8 crores. Instead, it opened at just Rs. 5 crores. This was despite the film starring Sunny Deol, who’s on a super-hit spree since Gadar 2. Sadly, the trailer just didn’t click with the audience. The content also didn’t seem massy enough.

Thankfully, Batwara 1947 has seen a big jump and may collect Rs. 10 crores on Day 2. However, this was the least one would expect from a film releasing on Independence Day, especially one that opened poorly. It is expected to have a weekend of around Rs. 24-25 crores. There’s no competition next weekend and that would benefit the film. Yet, a Rs. lifetime of more than Rs. 50 crores or Rs. 60 crores seems difficult as of now. What has also gone against the film is that the reports are not extraordinary. An extremely positive word of mouth would have surely given the film a chance.

AWARAPAN 2 TO OPEN WITH A BANG; WILL BATWARA 1947 MANAGE A RS. 10 CRORE PLUS OPENING?

The biggest clash of the season will take place tomorrow, August 14, and the excitement is tremendous. Both films – Awarapan 2 and Batwara 1947 – seem promising and can have a healthy run at the box office if word of mouth is positive.

Awarapan 2 is the second part of Awarapan, which released in 2007. Despite positive word of mouth, it was a disaster as it earned just Rs. 7.75 crores. The film clashed with Himesh Reshammiya’s debut film Aap Kaa Surroor and Apne, which brought Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and Dharmendra together. Both these films had tremendous buzz, due to which Awarapan got completely sidelined.

However, over the years, Awarapan achieved cult status due to its unforgettable music score, Emraan Hashmi’s performance and the emotional and dramatic moments. Moreover, Emraan hasn’t done a film in the mass cinema space for the longest time, and there’s a huge demand among the audience to see him in this avatar. All these reasons have added to the excitement for Awarapan 2.

Besides Emraan Hashmi, Awarapan 2 stars Disha Patani, Shabana Azmi and others. The promotion and trailer have been underwhelming. But that hasn’t dampened the hype for the film. It was expected that the film would open at Rs. 10-12 crores. But ticket sales have been so huge that a Rs. 18-20 crore opening can’t be ruled out. In other words, it’ll earn double the lifetime of Awarapan in just one day!

At this rate, Awarapan 2 can have a weekend of Rs. 60-70 crores and has a shot at Rs. 100 crores. Thus, it has the potential to be Emraan Hashmi’s highest grosser, beating The Dirty Picture, which collected Rs. 79.78 crores.

Meanwhile, Batwara 1947 stars Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta, Shabana Azmi, Ali Fazal and others. It reunites Sunny and director Rajkumar Santoshi after 30 years. Moreover, Aamir Khan is the film’s producer.

The trailer of Batwara 1947 is interesting. However, it hasn’t worked as intended among the audience. The film isn’t appealing to the audience due to the star cast and subject. Moreover, the music isn’t up to the mark. Awarapan 2 is far more exciting for the youngsters.

The advance booking of Batwara 1947 is slow and is expected to open in single digits, around Rs. 7-8 crores. However, if the film packs a punch, it can jump big time on Saturday and Sunday. If it manages to hold steady over the weekdays, it still has a chance.

WILL SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY CROSS THE RS. 500 CRORE MARK?

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is on a dream run at present and its weekend performance was beyond anyone’s expectations. The industry was hoping it could break the long-standing record of Avengers: Endgame. That film opened at Rs. 53.50 crores and was the highest opener for Hollywood in India. Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Brand New Day went way ahead and collected a huge Rs. 60 crores on Thursday, July 30, the day of release.

On the second day, Friday, the film had a normal drop and yet collected Rs. 48 crores. The collections jumped to Rs. 68 crores on Saturday. Usually, Hollywood films drop on Sunday or remain at the same level as Saturday. But Spider-Man: Brand New Day earned Rs. 76 crores, shocking the trade and industry.

On Monday, Spider-Man: Brand New Day dropped more than 50%, earning Rs. 23 crores. But this was fine as it was coming off a historic weekend. After collecting Rs. 21 crores on Tuesday, the superhero film had another drop on Wednesday when it collected Rs. 15 crores. This drop is slightly alarming.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day has earned Rs. 311 crores until Wednesday and its first week collections would be around Rs. 323-324 crores. Looking at the weekend performance, it was expected that the film had a chance of crossing the Rs. 500 crore mark. But now, with the drop, that seems unlikely. However, all hope is not lost. If it sees another dramatic jump in the second week and then holds during the weekdays, it can still have a chance of entering the coveted Rs. 500 crore club.

Nevertheless, the job is done. In the second week, it’ll cross the approx. Rs. 380 crore figure of Avatar: The Way Of Water and emerge as the highest Hollywood-grossing film of all time in India.

WILL SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY BREAK AVENGERS: ENDGAME’S LONG-STANDING DAY 1 RECORD?

Tomorrow, July 30, will see the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and the excitement surrounding it is historic, to say the least. It has been a long time since a Hollywood film generated such widespread craze in India. The recently-released The Odyssey also witnessed a tremendous rush, but its demand was largely concentrated in urban centres. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, meanwhile, is attracting phenomenal interest across North, South, East and West India, and in urban centres and mass pockets alike.

The advance booking opened way back on June 17. In just 24 hours, 45,000 tickets for the film were sold, which proved that there was a huge demand to see the superhero flick. The expectation was that the film would open at around Rs. 40-45 crores. However, the demand kept on increasing as the release date neared. As a result, the film can now have an astonishing opening of more than Rs. 50 crores.

The trade and industry are now excited to see if it can beat the long-standing record of Avengers: Endgame. That film opened at Rs. 53.50 crores and since more than 7 years, it holds the record of the highest Hollywood opener of India. The craze for Avengers: Endgame was unbelievable and seems like Spider-Man: Brand New Day is also in the same boat.

It was said that there’s superhero fatigue, and it is indeed true. At the same time, Spider-Man stands out. He’s the most popular superhero in India, as every film of the series with different actors have worked big time. The films of Spider-Man are easy to understand and the character itself is youthful and entertaining, which is why he has an insane following.

The last Spider-Man film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, opened at Rs. 32.75 crores in lockdown time when cinemas operated at 50% occupancy. Hence, now that the situation is normal, it was a given that Spider-Man: Brand New Day would open with a bang. That it would challenge the numbers of Avengers: Endgame was not expected.

At present, Spider-Man: No Way Home is the third-biggest Hollywood opener in India, while the second spot is occupied by Avatar: The Way Of Water, which opened at Rs. 40 crores. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is certain to surpass this figure. The fourth and fifth positions are occupied by Avengers: Infinity War, which opened at Rs. 31.25 crores, and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, which collected Rs. 28.75 crores on its opening day, respectively. In short, four of the five films on the list belong to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Considering the craze for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, one can only imagine the kind of opening that Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for release on December 18, could register. The MCU appears to be back in form, at least for now. If the studio plays its cards well, the subsequent films could also benefit from this renewed momentum and avoid the struggle to attract audiences that the franchise experienced over the last few years.

The top 5 biggest openers of Hollywood films in India
1. Avengers: Endgame - 53,50,00,000
2. Avatar: The Way Of Water - 40,00,00,000
3. Spider-Man: No Way Home - 32,75,00,000
4. Avengers: Infinity War - 31,25,00,000
5. Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness - 28,75,00,000

DHAMAAL 4 CONTINUES ITS SUCCESSFUL RIDE; THE ODYSSEY IS A SMASH HIT

It’s a good month for the industry as two diverse films, belonging to diverse industries, are doing very well at the box office. Dhamaal 4 that had a great first week managed to hold well at the box office in Week 2 as well, despite competition from The Odyssey.

Dhamaal 4 collected Rs. 94.75 crores in Week 1 and then had a marginal drop on its eighth day, which it collected Rs. 5.25 crores. The collections jumped to Rs. 10 crores on Saturday and Rs. 12 crores on Sunday. The weekday earnings are steady. Until Tuesday, Dhamaal 4 has collected Rs. 128.75 crores. If it remains strong in the third week, it has all chances to cross the lifetime earnings of Total Dhamaal – Rs. 150.07 crores.

Meanwhile, The Odyssey is having a fine run as well. It collected Rs. 16 crores on Friday, Rs. 20.75 crores on Saturday and Rs. 20 crores on Sunday. Thus, the weekend collections are Rs. 56.75 crores and the first week earnings would be in the range of Rs. 80-85 crores. Its aim is to cross the Oppenheimer figure of Rs. 130 crores, and its quite possible since the film has historic trend in the IMAX and other premium formats. All shows of the film in IMAX in the weekdays, even the ones at 6:00 am or 7:00 am, have healthy occupancy. Tickets of the next week are already selling fast and their prices are high. As a result, the film can go anywhere from here.

However, Spider-Man: Brand New Day will arrive in cinemas on July 30. The excitement for it is also insane and it’ll definitely dent the collections of The Odyssey. However, The Odyssey will retain the IMAX screens and that would prove beneficial for its collections in the long run.

DHAMAAL 4 IS A HUGE SUCCESS; DEFIES ALL PRE-RELEASE EXPECTATIONS

The box office is on a high right at present. After Welcome To The Jungle, Dhamaal 4 has now rocked the box office. In fact, it's doing way better than Welcome’s third part. The film was expected to open around Rs. 10-12 crores. But it managed an opening of Rs. 14 crores. However, it’s the Saturday jump which was the most impressive. The film accumulated a whopping Rs. 22.50 crores on day 2 and Rs. 28 crores on Day 3.

Usually, films drop by 50% on Monday compared to Friday. But Dhamaal 4’s drop was minimal on day 4, when it collected Rs. 8.25 crores. A mini-miracle happened on Tuesday when the film earned more – Rs. 9.50 crores. This is the norm now, but it occurs because Tuesday tickets are sold at a discount. In Dhamaal 4's case, the makers didn’t sell tickets at cheaper rates since the film was doing so well. Yet, it saw a rise in the collections.

Dhamaal 4 has collected Rs. 82.25 crores in 5 days and is expected to earn around Rs. 95 crores in Week 1. On its second Friday, the film will cross the Rs. 100 crore mark. It’ll now certainly go past the lifetime numbers of Welcome To The Jungle. The aim of Dhamaal 4 is to cross the lifetime earnings of Total Dhamaal – Rs. 150.07 crores. That shouldn’t be a problem, though the drop on the eighth day will give a fair idea about it.

DHAMAAL 4 OPENS WELL; ALPHA HAS 30 CR+ WEEKEND DESPITE NEGATIVITY

Dhamaal 4 has released today and managed a fine opening. The advance booking of the film began, well, way in advance, in the sense that nearly all single screens got a chance to play the film with no competition from holdover releases. The spot bookings came into play; earlier, it seemed doubtful that the film would open at more than Rs. 10 crores.

However, Dhamaal 4 is set for an opening of Rs. 13 crores, which is way beyond expectations. Welcome To The Jungle had opened at Rs. 15 crores and ended up earning Rs. 60 crores in the weekend, excluding the paid preview. Hence, Dhamaal 4 should now aim to collect Rs. 48-50 crores in three days. The franchise factor and the comic nature of the film have proved beneficial.

Total Dhamaal had opened at Rs. 15.91 crores and then went on to collect Rs. 150.07 crores in its lifetime. It had a clean run and a great word of mouth, which led to such huge collections.

In the case of Dhamaal 4, the response at present seems mixed. However, this film also enjoys a clean run. There’s no competition for the next three weeks, until the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. So, if it has a strong weekend and holds well during the weekdays, it’ll have a healthy run. Even a Rs. 100 crore + lifetime will be good enough.

Meanwhile, last week’s Alpha also fared better than expected. It opened at Rs. 9 crores and then went on to collect Rs. 11.50 crores on Saturday and Rs. 13 crores on Sunday. Hence, it collected Rs. 33.50 crores in its first three days despite bad word of mouth and immense negativity on social media. It yet again proved that trolls have zero impact on the box office.

However, due to negative reports, the film did crash on Monday. Its first week collections amount to Rs. 46.25 crores. The best scenario for the film would be to earn Rs. 60 crores in its lifetime.

WILL ALPHA BE A SUCCESS LIKE THE REST OF THE YRF SPY UNIVERSE FILMS?

Tomorrow will see the release of Alpha and it's one of the most significant films of the year. This is because it belongs to the YRF Spy Universe and in the past, it has delivered huge grossers like Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai, War, Pathaan and Tiger 3. Alpha stands out because it focuses on two female protagonists.

Alpha stars Alia Bhatt and Sharvari in the lead and it also features Anil Kapoor and Bobby Deol. It is directed by Shiv Rawal, who helmed the much-loved YRF web series, The Railway Men. The teaser and trailer are quite slick, and it's clear that the film promises lots of grandeur and big-sized entertainment.

However, Alpha faces several challenges. There’s negativity surrounding the film, most of which was planted by vested interests. The trolls are of the opinion that after watching a realistic and gritty spy film like Dhurandhar, a film like Alpha won’t impress the audience. This narrative was spread around the release of the first part of Dhurandhar. The audience also got carried away and this became a strong notion.

In no time, Alpha began to be trolled. Its assets have also been massively criticized. In fact, there’s a section of netizens whose only job, it seems, is to troll Alia Bhatt and her various promotional appearances.

The negativity surrounding Alpha is huge and it's shocking because, to think of it, it makes no sense. Hollywood makes gritty spy flicks, but on the other hand, they also present viewers with a Mission: Impossible or a James Bond flick. Audiences out there are wise enough to understand that the latter category of films is meant to entertain and may have lots of cinematic liberties. And yet, it's fine. On the other hand, Bollywood audiences are made to feel that it's criminal to accept a spy film like Alpha in the post-Dhurandhar era.

The plus side is that a huge section of the moviegoing audience is interested in watching Alpha despite being bombarded with anti-YRF Spy Universe content on their phones throughout the day. But due to the negativity, most of them have adopted a wait-and-watch approach. It means that they’ll wait for the reports and only then will they book the tickets.

As a result, a double-digit opening of Alpha is ruled out. The film is expected to open at around Rs. 7 crores and it may cross the Rs. 8 crore mark. The film will see a huge jump if the word of mouth is positive. The aim should be to have a weekend of Rs. 30 crores and then trend well until Independence Day so that the film comes out with a respectable total, preferably Rs. 100 crore plus.

However, if reports are not encouraging, Alpha will have a very tough time.

The other release of the week is also about a female assassin – Baby Do Die Do. It stars Huma Qureshi in the lead and she’s also the film’s producer. The trailer is promising, but the buzz is very low. A positive word of mouth is crucial for the film to have a jump on Saturday and hold strongly in the weekdays.

WILL WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE EMERGE AS ANOTHER HIT FOR AKSHAY KUMAR AFTER BHOOTH BANGLA?

From today, 7:30 pm onwards, the paid previews of Welcome To The Jungle will begin across the country. The film has been in the news ever since it got launched, thanks to the popularity of the series, mainly the first part. Moreover, the film is arguably the biggest multi-starrer of all time.

Welcome To The Jungle stars Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez, Arshad Warsi, Jackie Shroff, Paresh Rawal, Raveena Tandon, Lara Dutta, Farida Jalal, Johny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Tusshar Kapoor, Rajpal Yadav, Krushna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Daler Mehndi, Aftab Shivdasani, Mukesh Tiwari, Yashpal Sharma, Kiran Kumar, Zakir Hussain, Vindu Dara Singh, Urvashi Rautela, Hemant Pandey, Brijendra Kala, Feroze Khan, Late Pankaj Dheer, Puneet Issar, Sudesh Berry and many more. It is directed by Ahmed Khan, while the first two parts – Welcome and Welcome Back – were directed by Anees Bazmee.

The teaser and trailer of Welcome To The Jungle have been entertaining and it looks like a grand, fun-filled entertainer. However, the challenges remain. The trailer hasn’t wowed the audience. The songs, though quirky, have not worked as intended.

As a result, as it usually happens, people have decided to wait for the response and then book tickets. This is also reflected in the advance sales, though the bookings until now are decent. There was hope that Welcome To The Jungle would emerge as Akshay Kumar’s highest opener by crossing the earnings of Mission Mangal (Rs. 28.45 crores). However, it seems like it's not going to happen. At best, the hope is that the film will open in the range of Rs. 17 crores and Rs. 20 crores on Friday. As for paid previews, Bhooth Bangla collected Rs. 3.50 crores and Welcome To The Jungle should aim at crossing this figure.

Meanwhile, Main Vaapas Aaunga collected more than the first week’s collections in the second weekend. While Week 1 earnings were Rs. 11.23 crores, its second week collections were Rs. 11.50 crores. It is rock-steady on weekdays as well. The film is expected to cross the Rs. 30 crore mark by the end of its second week.

As for Cocktail 2, it opened at Rs. 12.25 crores and went on to earn Rs. 15.50 crores and Rs. 16.50 crores on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. But it dropped to Rs. 5.25 crores on Monday, while Tuesday's jump was limited, when it earned Rs. 5.50 crores. The film has earned Rs. 55 crores in 5 days. As of now, a lifetime of Rs. 100 crore seems like a remote possibility.

WILL COCKTAIL 2 MANAGE TO OPEN BETTER THAN COCKTAIL?

After two weeks of multiple releases, the next two weeks will see just one major Hindi film trying its luck at the box office – Cocktail 2. Like any other Maddock production, the romcom has been extensively marketed and is constantly in the news.

Cocktail 2 stars Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon and Rashmika Mandanna and is directed by Homi Adajania. The songs are peppy while the film’s promos promise a vibrant, youthful entertainer. For many months, there were murmurs that Kriti and Rashmika play lesbian lovers. However, they recently clarified at an event that it's not true. One song from the film, ‘Mashooka’, has especially worked well and is big on Instagram Reels.

However, the film faces some roadblocks. While there’s excitement for the film, a section of the audience will prefer to wait-and-watch, that is, go through the response and then book tickets. The film’s ‘A’ certification has raised eyebrows. It won’t affect business, as proven by Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar The Revenge that adult rating is no more a roadblock. However, viewers are curious why such a rating has been given to a film that doesn't seem really adult.

Cocktail 2’s advance booking is decent and is expected to have a double digit opening if collections jump as intended in the evening and night shows. The first part, Cocktail (2012), starring Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Diana Penty, opened at Rs. 10.47 crores. The aim of Cocktail 2 would be to go past this figure. With limited competition from holdover releases, the film should then aim for a Rs. 45-50 crore weekend.

Meanwhile, Haunted – Echoes Of The Past emerged as a surprise last week. An opening of Rs. 1.50 crores was considered the best-case scenario pre-release. But it went on to collect Rs. 2.25 crores and is the best-performing film of the week. The weekday trend is weak. But the job is done and it’ll the end Week 1 with earnings totaling Rs. 14 crores.

On the other hand, Main Vaapas Aaunga was expected to take a Rs. 2-3 crore start. Sadly, it opened at just Rs. 1.10 crores. One expected the collections to double on Saturday and Sunday. That didn’t happen and the film collected Rs. 1.85 crores and Rs. 2.50 crores respectively.

Thankfully, the Monday hold was strong, when the film collected as much as on Friday. On Tuesday, due to the discounted rates, collections jumped to Rs. 1.50 crores. On Wednesday, the earnings should have come down. Instead, the film collected Rs. 1.75 crores. The film is expected to collect around Rs. 11.50 crores in Week 1. It needs to earn as much or more than Week 1 to come out with some sort of respectable collections.

WILL HAI JAWANI TOH ISHQ HONA HAI WORK AT THE BOX OFFICE?

The dry month of May is over and now, all eyes are on Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, the first major release of the season. It is said to be the last directorial venture of David Dhawan and that has added to the hype.

Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai stars Varun Dhawan, Mrunal Thakur and Pooja Hegde and just like most films of David Dhawan, it’s a comic caper. The songs have caught attention, especially ‘Chunari Chunari’ and ‘Ishq Sona Hai’. The teaser of the film got thumbs down due to the use of AI-generated twin babies. However, the trailer had a better reception.

The advance sales of the film are fine but not great. Most viewers have opted for a wait-and-watch strategy, that is, they’ll wait for the reviews before deciding whether or not to buy tickets. As of now, the opening seems to be around Rs. 6-7 crores. A huge jump can be expected on Saturday if the reports are positive.

The other release is Bandar, starring Bobby Deol. Directed by Anurag Kashyap, it tells the story of a man wrongly accused in a rape case. The song ‘Come On Baby’ is catchy and has been loved. But the film looks dark and hence, will appeal to a select audience only. The film should open around Rs. 1 crore.

Lastly, Peddi was released today in the original Telugu and Hindi versions. It stars Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor and has taken a flying start in Telugu. In Hindi, however, it’ll open at around Rs. 1-2 crore at best and can go higher if the evening footfalls are better than expected.

CHAND MERA DIL UNDERPERFORMS; INDUSTRY GEARS UP FOR A BUSY JUNE, JULY

Last week’s romantic saga, Chand Mera Dil, was expected to open at Rs. 4-5 crores, but sadly, the spot bookings weren’t as encouraging as expected. The first-day earnings were just Rs. 2.75 crores. The tickets were sold for Rs. 149 and Rs. 199, which, in a way, went against the film as collections turned out to be lower. But the other side of the argument is that the offer helped the film to open at this number.

The second and third-day collections were Rs. 3.50 crores and Rs. 4.15 crores, respectively. The Monday drop wasn’t huge because the makers offered a Buy One Get One (BOGO) Ticket Free offer. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, tickets were again sold at a discounted price. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Chand Mera Dil benefited from the Eid holiday the next day. Thursday's collections should also be slightly better for the same reason.

Yet, overall collections will still remain low because the opening was not that great. The first week’s collections are expected to be around Rs. 15-16 crores. A lifetime collection of Rs. 25 crores now seems tough.

There’s minimal competition for the film in the second week. However, earnings will be affected on Friday and Sunday due to the IPL qualifier and final matches respectively. It is due to the IPL factor that big-scale films won’t release in the last week of May. The major film this week is The Great Grand Superhero - Aliens Ka Aagman, starring Jackie Shroff. The trailer is very entertaining, but the buzz is very low. As a result, the advance booking is low, and it remains to be seen if the film can open at the Rs. 1 crore mark.

There’ll be a heavy flow of releases from next week. Every week will see the release of at least one major film trying its luck in cinemas and it’ll continue until July 31.

WILL CHAND MERA DIL MANAGE TO SURPRISE AT THE BOX OFFICE?

This Friday, May 22, will see the release of Chand Mera Dil, starring Ananya Panday and Lakshya. It is produced by Dharma Productions and directed by Vivek Soni of Aap Jaisa Koi fame. When the film was announced, the posters suggested a light-hearted romcom. But the teaser, which was unveiled last month, made it clear that Chand Mera Dil is an intense romantic saga. It also gave a déjà vu of films like Kabir Singh and Saiyaara. However, the genre is working right now and hence the timing of Chand Mera Dil is just right.

The title track of Chand Mera Dil has managed to register, while the trailer is intriguing. The makers have adopted the ‘Saiyaara strategy’, that is, there have been no promotional events or interviews. The tactic seems to have worked.

However, due to the star cast, the buzz is limited. Moreover, a section of the viewers have preferred to wait and watch, that is, decide on whether or not to watch the film based on word of mouth.

Dharma has come up with an interesting strategy for the release day – the ticket will be available for only Rs. 149 for all shows before 5:00 pm. For shows after 5:00, one can buy a ticket for just Rs. 199. The offer has enticed the viewers, leading to decent advance sales. Hence, Chand Mera Dil is expected to open at around Rs. 4-4.5 crores with the outside chance of hitting the Rs. 5 crore mark. A good word of mouth can lead to a weekend in the range of Rs. 15-20 crores.

If reports are positive, Chand Mera Dil will be at an advantage as there’s no competition for two weeks, that is, until June 4.

WILL PATI PATNI AUR WOH DO AND AAKHRI SAWAL SUCCEED AT THE BOX OFFICE?

The box office got a boost with Dhurandhar The Revenge, which went on to become an all-time record grosser. The next major Hindi film, Bhooth Bangla, also did well and will cross the Rs. 150 crore mark. Raja Shivaji underperformed in Hindi but is a huge hit in Marathi. And now, all eyes are on the next significant film, Pati Patni Aur Woh Do.

Pati Patni Aur Woh Do stars Ayushmann Khurrana, Rakul Preet Singh, Sara Ali Khan and Wamiqa Gabbi. Like the first part, Pati Patni Aur Woh, it is directed by Mudassar Aziz and produced by T-Series and B R Studios. The earlier part, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar and Ananya Panday, was a hit at the box office and also the franchise's subject is also enticing. Hence, expectations are high for Pati Patni Aur Woh Do. Pati Patni Aur Woh was about a man cheating on his wife with a girlfriend. This time, the protagonist is trapped between his wife and two ‘girlfriends’, or so it seems.

However, the buzz for Pati Patni Aur Woh Do is limited as the trailer hasn’t made a huge mark. Even the songs aren’t chartbusters. But due to the film's quirky nature, the casting, and the lack of competition, the film will have an advantage.

Pati Patni Aur Woh opened at Rs. 8.34 crores and had a lifetime collection of Rs. 80.41 crores. Pati Patni Aur Woh Do will have a lesser opening, at around Rs. 5 crores. If word-of-mouth is strong, collections can double on Sunday or even Saturday, leading to a healthy lifetime collection.

The other release of the week is Aakhri Sawal. It has an ensemble star cast, comprising Sanjay Dutt, Namashi Chakraborty, Amit Sadh, Sameera Reddy, Neetu Chandra and Tridha Choudhary. The confrontation between Sanjay and Namashi seems to be a highlight. However, the subject hasn’t enticed the audience much. As a result, it’ll have an opening in the range of Rs. 1-2 crores. Strong positive reports are a must for the film to leave a mark.

RAJA SHIVAJI, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 SUCCEED; NEW RELEASES TO FACE A CHALLENGE

The exhibitors had a gala time last weekend. The majority of new releases like Raja Shivaji, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Patriot etc., as well as holdover releases like Bhooth Bangla and Michael performed brilliantly at the ticket window.

As expected, Raja Shivaji opened at Rs. 10.25 crores with a majority of earnings coming from the Marathi version, which released majorly in Maharashtra. The May 1 Maharashtra Day holiday also went in its favour. After a huge first day, the numbers dropped to Rs. 9.25 crores on Saturday and then jumped to Rs. 11.50 crores on Sunday. On Monday, Raja Shivaji collected Rs. 5.25 crores. This way, the film collected Rs. 36.25 crores in 4 days. The first week's earnings are expected to be around Rs. 50 crores. With negligible competition this week, Raja Shivaji has a chance of hitting the Rs. 100 crore mark.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 collected around Rs. 5 crores on day 1 + paid previews and held strongly over the weekends and weekdays too. The first week's collections are expected to be around Rs. 20 crores. This film should remain steady over the next few weeks and the target would be to cross the Rs. 35 crore mark and hopefully, enter the Rs. 40 crore club as well.

Sadly, Ek Din was an exception. As predicted in last week’s edition, it opened at Rs. 1 crore. The film dropped to Rs. 75 lakhs, which should not have happened despite the May 1 holiday, as its day 1 collections were paltry. In an ideal situation, word-of-mouth should have taken the collections to Rs. 1.50 crore, but the opposite happened here.

On Sunday and Monday, Ek Din collected Rs. 85 lakhs and Rs. 25 lakhs, respectively. This way, the film has collected just Rs. 2.85 crores. Even a lifetime collection of Rs. 5 crores now looks very difficult.

Three films will be released tomorrow, May 8, and in terms of opening, none of them stands a chance. Daadi Ki Shaadi is the most star-driven film of the three. It stars Neetu Kapoor and marks the debut of her daughter Riddhima Kapoor Sahni. Kapil Sharma and Sadia Khateeb also feature in the movie. It looks like a slice-of-life, light-hearted flick, but excitement for it is negligible. Due to the cast and genre, the film will hopefully cross the Rs. 1 crore mark, though the advance sales at present do not suggest so.

Krishnavataram Part 1: The Heart stars newcomers and is a devotional film on Lord Krishna. Its trailer and songs have been noticed and its ticket sales have been fine. If word of mouth is positive, then it can surprise at the ticket window. The makers misled viewers by claiming that it was releasing on May 7. However, it only has paid previews starting tonight and not a full-fledged release.

Finally, Main Actor Nahin Hoon stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead. It’s a niche film with limited release.

TRADE, INDUSTRY AND VIEWERS GEAR UP FOR A HEAVILY CROWDED WEEKEND

It’s an extremely heavily crowded week as a significant film is releasing in nearly every film industry of the country. Hence, it became a challenge for the exhibitors to program and schedule releases.

The biggest film in the Northern market is Raja Shivaji. It stars Riteish Deshmukh as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj; he's also the director and one of the producers. The other actors in the film are Genelia Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Fardeen Khan, Bhagyashree, Sachin Khedekar, Amole Gupte, Mahesh Manjrekar and others. It’ll have a release in both Hindi and Marathi.

The Marathi version is all set for a flying start in Maharashtra. It’ll be the biggest opener in the home state and could go beyond Rs. 10 crores if all goes well. However, in Hindi, the excitement is limited and hence, it’ll open at around Rs. 5 crores. Hence, the total opening in both languages will be very high.

Ek Din stars Junaid Khan and Sai Pallavi and is produced by Aamir Khan. The songs of the film have caught attention, while the trailer promises a sweet love story.

However, the buzz is very limited. Viewers will mostly opt for wait-and-watch, that is, they’ll wait for initial response to trickle in and then decide on whether they’d want to watch it. Also, it appeals to audiences in metros and this segment is more keen on watching The Devil Wears Prada 2. Ek Din will open around Rs. 50-75 lakhs, with an outside chance of hitting Rs. 1 crore mark. Ideally, Ek Din should have been released last week, when the competition was limited.

As for The Devil Wears Prada 2, it has sprung a surprise. The first part was released 20 years ago, but it seems like not just the OG fans but even the younger population has consumed and loved it. The Devil Wears Prada 2 had paid previews from 7:00 pm on April 30, and the response has been superb. At the rate at which its going, the paid previews and first day collection would be around Rs. 7 crores.

The other major releases this week are Patriot in Malayalam and KD - The Devil in Kannada.

Meanwhile, Michael continues to remain strong while Bhooth Bangla also did great in its first two weeks, earning around Rs. 117 crores. Both these films will have to make do with fewer shows. However, they’ll surely find some audience and it would further add to their earnings.

MICHAEL SPRINGS A SURPRISE; WILL GINNY WEDSS SUNNY 2 BRING JOY AT THE BOX OFFICE?

Last week’s Bhooth Bangla has done well at the box office, despite criticism over its second half. The film earned Rs. 3.50 crores in the paid previews, which is more than expectations. But on Friday, the film collected Rs. 11.50 crores, which was below expectations. But on Saturday, the earnings jumped to Rs. 18 crores, followed by Rs. 21.50 crores on Sunday.

On Monday, Bhooth Bangla collected Rs. 6.15 crores, which was a decent drop. Due to the Tuesday offer, the collections jumped to Rs. 7.25 crores. On Wednesday, it collected Rs. 5.50 crores. Hence, its six-day collections are Rs. 73.40 crores, while its one-week earnings are expected to be around Rs. 78 crores.

There’s minimal competition this week, which will prove beneficial to Bhooth Bangla. Its target will be to collect Rs. 125-130 crores in its lifetime.

This week will see the release of two significant films. Michael, based on the life of Michael Jackson, had paid previews starting at 6:00 pm on April 23. The advance booking is terrific, stunning the trade and industry. It is expected to collect Rs. 1 crore plus in previews. A weekend in the range of Rs. 20-30 crores will be ideal. The negative reviews from the West has not had any effect, it seems, on the desi audiences, as evident by the strong ticket sales.

The other release is Ginny Wedss Sunny 2, starring Avinash Tiwary and Medha Shankr. The trailer is decent and it looks like a rooted, family entertainer. However, the buzz is negligible. The songs haven’t worked at all. Moreover, though Ginny Weds Sunny’s first part was a decent success on Netflix, it doesn’t have a recall value. The opening of Ginny Wedss Sunny 2 is expected to be around Rs. 50 lakhs. It needs a strong word of mouth to have some sort of respectable collections in its lifetime.

WILL BHOOTH BANGLA EMERGE AS A SUCCESS FOR AKSHAY KUMAR?

7 months after his last release, Jolly LLB 3, Akshay Kumar will be back on the big screen tonight with Bhooth Bangla. The film reunites him with Priyadarshan and hence, the excitement is tremendous.

Bhooth Bangla is a horror comedy and also stars Wamiqa Gabbi, Tabu, Mithila Palkar, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Asrani, Manoj Joshi and others. The trailer seems entertaining and it indicates that Akshay and Priyadarshan are trying to back the glorious era of comedy. Moreover, horror is the flavour of the season. Hence, this aspect has further appealed to the audience.

However, the songs have failed to become chartbusters. While many appreciated the use of jokes from old films to create a nostalgic appeal, a section of the audience had reservations about it. Thankfully, the film's timing is correct. Usually nowadays, viewers prefer to wait for reviews before booking tickets. But in the case of Bhooth Bangla, the advance ticket sales are healthy, possibly as there hasn't been any film since Dhurandhar The Revenge, which released a month ago.

Bhooth Bangla will have a full-fledged release on April 17, with paid previews starting at 9:00 pm on April 16. The film is expected to collect Rs. 2-3 crores in paid previews. On Friday, the film should collect Rs. 12-13 crores with an outside chance of crossing the Rs. 15 crore mark.

At one point, Akshay Kumar was having a dream run, but post pandemic, his track record suffered.  Sooryavanshi was his best opener at Rs. 26.11 crores, followed by Housefull 5 (Rs. 22 crores), Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (Rs. 15 crores), Ram Setu (Rs. 15 crores), Sky Force (Rs. 13.50 crores), Jolly LLB 3 (Rs. 12.50 crores), Bachchhan Paanday (Rs. 12.18 crores) and Samrat Prithviraj (Rs. 10.58 crores). The rest of his films have opened at single digits. The aim for Bhooth Bangla should be to go past the Rs. 15 crore mark so that it could be his third biggest opener in the post-pandemic era. 

Meanwhile, Lee Cronin's The Mummy also releases tomorrow, and its advance is decent. It should open at around Rs. 1 crore plus.