The Holi holiday has proven to be lucrative for new as well as holdover releases. For the first time in a long time, the Hindi Film Industry has seen a nett single day in excess of Rs. 30 cr nett. The last time the Hindi Film Industry saw a collection in excess of Rs. 30 cr nett was back in Jan 2020 on republic day when Tanhaji, Street Dancer 3D and Panga contributed in excess of Rs. 30 cr nett. The Kashmir Files has remained the first choice for moviegoers for the second consecutive week while Akshay Kumar led Bachchhan Paandey on its first Friday has had to settle as the second most preferred choice for moviegoers.
The Kashmir Files began its box office journey with a modest Rs. 3.5 cr nett on 600 screens. The film caught such momentum that screens started increasing every passing hour and now the film is playing on 4000 screens while Bachchhan Paandey has had to settle with 3000 screens. The exhibitors are spoilt for choices and it is not going to get any easier for them as the big S.S. Rajamouli film RRR is set to release next week too, which will be having good booking pressure and will be demanding a significant chunk of screens too.
The Vivek Agnihotri directorial has already etched its place in the history books and now the second week will be all about breaking all time records. The film crossed Rs. 100 cr nett on its eighth ticketing day and the peak is still to come, which we may well see on its second Sunday.
The Kashmir Files did around Rs. 19 cr nett. It is the highest second Friday for a Bollywood film ever, eclipsing Dangal, although in terms of ticket receipts, it is lesser since ticket prices have increased quite a bit since 2016.
Bachchhan Paandey was affected by The Kashmir Files wave. The Kashmir Files was retained by many single screens in its second week too, which dampened Bachchhan Paandey’s prospects as the movie was primarily catering to single screen mass audiences. Even the multiplex allocation is lesser than what it could have been had there not been a film like The Kashmir Files, which is only growing each passing day.
Bachchhan Paandey on its first Friday did around Rs. 12.50 cr nett. The opening note is strictly Average and the film needs strong growth and a good weekday hold and trending to sail through.
It is futile to demand for more screens by the makers of Bachchhan Paandey since the occupancy of The Kashmir Files is higher despite a wider second week release. Saturday and Sunday are sure to grow for Bachchhan Paandey, but by what percentage is the key.
Regardless of how the films have performed individually, it is happy days for the exhibitors since big ticketing days are back. The cumulative nett total of the two Hindi films is in the north of Rs. 30 cr. Saturday and Sunday together are expected to rake-in in excess of Rs. 70 cr nett and that will mean a Rs. 100 cr plus nett weekend.
What are your thoughts on the collections of The Kashmir Files and Bachchhan Paandey?
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