Generally speaking, Bollywood had a poor day with barely more than Rs. 2 crores coming in. This is quite disheartening for the industry, which relies heavily on the success of large blockbuster movies to drive revenue for its exhibition and distribution sector. The last big hit was Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 which released two months ago, but it seems the wait for the next will be longer than expected.
Both HIT – The First Case and Shabaash Mithu had underwhelming debuts at the box office, although the former is meeting expectations given its estimated opening of Rs. 1.35 crores. Surprisingly, this is even lower than Badhaai Do’s collection of Rs. 1.65 crores, despite being the first new theatrical release since the third wave subsided, with theaters operating at 50% capacity and no night shows. This speaks to the struggle of the film industry amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
On the other hand, Shabaash Mithu was quite unfortunate with an initial collection of Rs. 0.50 crores. The figures can be compared to that of Saina, another movie about the legendary female badminton player Saina Nehwal, which managed to bring in Rs. 0.15 crores in its opening day, indicating marginally higher performance from Taapsee Pannu’s film. One had expected the film to attain at least 1 crore given that it featured Mithali Raj, India’s top female cricketer, but sadly there was not enough public awareness about the movie.
In the meanwhile, the awareness factor for JugJugg Jeeyo has been the key factor behind its fourth Friday collection of 0.40 crore. Even though the current numbers have decreased significantly, the money still trickling in is like a reward for the movie directed by Raj Mehta. The film has amassed an overall 81.37 crores so far and it is anticipated that the film will breach the 85 crore mark by the end of its lifetime.
*Estimates. Final numbers awaited
Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources
