After just one underwhelming weekend at the box-office, Akshay Kumar’s much anticipated film saw a sudden yet promising uptick in the third consecutive day. Day three went relatively well with an estimated collection of about Rs. 2.95 to 3.15 crores for multiplexes and had decreased by about 30 to 35% on average for single screens (which goes from good to worse considering how comparatively low it already was). Nonetheless, this is still good news as we head into what may end up being four successive days worth of more than 12 crore rupees – something which could have only been done if all other factors remained constant and there weren’t any new movies coming out; which isn’t the case since there are several Bollywood films releasing next week.
With its Sunday figures expected to jump by 10% from last week, every eye was focused on Monday. It is crucial for films that open in this range to show a Monday equivalent to 80% of the first day; otherwise they don’t have much staying power. A key concern was whether Bell Bottom would touch Rs. 4500 crores over the course of six days since it had no major competition during its opening weekend. If it failed to meet expectations, there might not be much reason to keep watching it past Wednesday evening; but if it succeeded as planned, everything else would fall into place just fine too.
One of the biggest pros for Bell Bottom is that it’s a great film. Hopefully, this excellent work will spread like wildfire and make people flock to theaters this weekend. At the same time, Uttar Pradesh officials have also eased up on some restrictions for Sunday. Cinemas are now able to stay open till 10 PM with one final showing before then – but they’re restricted by a nighttime curfew until then. And even if these new rules only apply temporarily, cinemas in Tamil Nadu can reopen once more starting Monday at 50%. As well, cinema owners are allowed to run night shows beginning Monday in Delhi again too.
