The much anticipated Bollywood masala blockbuster, Bachchan Pandey starring Akshay Kumar and Kriti Sanon in lead has taken an average opening with estimates falling in the range of Rs. 11.75 to 13.00 crores. While they would’ve liked a stronger opening day, it seems like the buzz surrounding the competitors from The Kashmir Files and lacklustre promotional campaign dented their prospects.
Early morning show had less attendees than anticipated which is also reflected in its single digit revenue estimate; however, there were spots booked so that turned out to be good news for them too as it means people are indeed interested enough to go ahead and buy tickets for such kind of movies when they come up with some new story line or something different altogether worth investing money into. With Holidays coming up soon after, trade experts predict a gradual increase in profits with the aim being Rs 15 crores (Rs 150 million) – still lower than what was expected of them earlier though!
Gujarat and Maharashtra were among the most lucrative states for Farhad Samji’s new release, but Uttar Pradesh and Bihar also joined in by day time showings. All this success was despite the film being up against The Kashmir Files which had already been released some weeks before Bachchan Paandey came out. Opening night could’ve done significantly better with less competition but due to an inadequate screen count and marketing campaign it barely broke even.
Still, it managed to put up a decent showing because of Akshay Kumar’s star power which translated into respectable openings across India because he is extremely popular throughout Bollywood – especially among women who make up 70% of his fan base according to recent surveys. All we can do now is wait and see what happens when movie goes further; we’ll find out where it falls on Wednesday morning after viewing how much ticket sales increased during the weekend.
