Priyadarshan and Akshay Kumar have reunited after 14 years with the horror-comedy Bhooth Bangla, and the film is set for a great start at the box office. The highly anticipated reunion of the two has sparked considerable interest among audiences, and trade is abuzz about how well the film could do. Early trends indicate that Bhooth Bangla may have the best opening for a Bollywood film this year after Dhurandhar 2, and even give many top horror-comedies a run for their money.
Bhooth Bangla advance booking
Advance bookings for Bhooth Bangla began earlier this week, and the film generated significant momentum through pre-sales. Horror-comedies are not known for racking up huge advance bookings, but the film still sold 1.3 lakh tickets on opening day. According to Sacnilk, Bhooth Bangla collected ₹3.32 crore in gross domestic advance bookings for its first day. This set it up for a double-digit opening day.
But the film had the added advantage of paid previews, a trend popularised by Dhurandhar 2 earlier this year. Paid previews for the film opened at 9 PM on Thursday, April 16, the eve of the film’s release. Despite limited shows, Bhooth Bangla performed admirably on Thursday, collecting an above-expectations ₹3.50 crore net from paid previews.
Bhooth Bangla box office prediction
The advance bookings and paid previews are strong indicators that Bhooth Bangla is set to have a solid start at the box office. Trade experts predict the film to collect ₹12-14 crore net in India on its first day. Add to it the paid preview collections, and Bhooth Bangla’s opening comes out to a solid ₹15-17 crore. This is the second biggest opening for a Bollywood film this year, behind Dhurandhar 2’s record-breaking ₹145-crore start last month.
However, what should be encouraging for the Akshay Kumar film is that it ranks fourth among all Hindi horror-comedies, behind only Stree 2 ( ₹55 crore) and Thamma ( ₹24 crore), both from the Maddock Films stable, as well as Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 ( ₹35 crore). Bhooth Bangla will, however, beat other successful horror-comedies such as Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 ( ₹14.50 crore), Stree ( ₹8 crore), and Bhediya ( ₹10 crore).
All about Bhooth Bangla
Bhooth Bangla, Priyadarshan’s first Hindi film in five years, stars Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Tabu, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Rajpal Yadav. The film releases in theatres on April 17. The film has opened to largely positive reviews, with praise for the performances, comedy, and VFX.