Filmmaker Priyadarshan's horror comedy Bhooth Bangla has begun its box-office journey on a promising note, with a healthy paid preview collections of ₹3.50 crore nett on Thursday. The Akshay Kumar-led comedy has released across the board on Friday.
According to industry tracker Sacnilk, Bhooth Bangla netted approximately ₹3.50-3.75 crore on select previews, which began from Thursday evening. The day one of the film is expected to be in the range of ₹12 crore, and with paid previews, the opening day is estimated to be around ₹15 crore.
If it manages to do that, Bhooth Bangla would register a better opening day than Akshay Kumar-Arshad Warsi led Jolly LLB 3, which was around ₹12.50 crore. The film also stars Tabu, Wamiqa Gabbi, Rajpal Yadav, Paresh Rawal, Mithila Palkar, Jissu Sengupta among others.
Produced by Kumar, Shobha Kapoor, and Ektaa R Kapoor, Bhooth Bangla marks the much-awaited reunion of Kumar and Priyadarshan after hit comedies like Hera Pheri, Bhagam Bhag, Garam Masala, Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Khatta Meetha, which marked their last collaboration in 2010. The duo will also work together in the thriller Haiwaan, co-starring Saif Ali Khan.
The film was earlier set to release last week, but was pushed due to the historic performance of filmmaker Aditya Dhar's Ranveer Singh-led Dhurandhar: The Revenge at the box-office.
Kapoor had reasoned that the decision was made to ensure that both films get the "theatrical space, marketing focus, and audience attention they truly deserve".
"By moving Bhooth Bangla ahead by a week, we are ensuring that both films get the theatrical space, marketing focus, and audience attention they truly deserve! We believe this approach benefits everyone — the filmmakers, the exhibitors, and most importantly, the audiences who get to experience each film without compromise. We will always prioritise the comfort of theatre-going audiences, and strive to entertain them in the best way possible with our films," Kapoor had added.