‘Bholaa’ to end second week in theatres with ₹70 crore

Ajay Devgn’s Bholaa is likely to end its second week in theatres with box office collections of around ₹70 crore. Overall, the action film hasn’t fared as per expectations in small towns and mass-market areas, though its performance in multiplexes has been better than expected.

Aditya Roy Kapur-starrer Gumraah, on the other hand, had made around Rs. 4.90 crore at last count, after a poor start on day one itself despite a holiday.

The last quarter of the financial year remained muted for the Hindi film industry with box office collections estimated at around ₹850 crore, and footfalls down by 30-40% compared to pre-Covid days.

Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan, which clocked over ₹540 crore at the domestic box office, remained the sole hit of the season, an outlier at a time when most films underperformed.

Box office failures include Akshay Kumar’s Selfiee and Kartik Aaryan’s Shehzada. While most trade experts point out these films were all greenlit and designed pre-pandemic, others say exorbitant ticket pricing in cinemas has played spoilsport.

There were high expectations from Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar which was coming close on the heels of the actor’s last hit Brahmastra. However, the film had only clocked in ₹141 crore at last count, attracting primarily urban, multiplex audiences.

Even in the south, there had been only two decently profitable films, both released for Pongal in January, Vijay’s Varisu and Ajith’s Thunivu.

To be sure, post-Covid recovery has been far more pronounced in the south, where caps on ticket pricing and loyal fans see films through. In the Hindi-speaking belt, small and mid-sized films like Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway and Zwigato were priced on par with tentpole films in multiplexes.