Bhooth Bangla was highly anticipated and opened well at theaters, with both a solid opening weekend and a decent box office gross; however, it did not have the knockout punch expected for an Akshay Kumar film. Let’s break down the numbers.
Bhooth Bangla kicked off the box office with a decent day 1 collection of around Rs. 12.25 crore, setting a promising benchmark. It looked like it would end up making a lot more than Rs. 100 crore on its first weekend, as the horror and comedy genre generally works well with the audiences, plus the reunion of Akshay with director Priyadarshan naturally set the expectations high.
Then we move to the 2nd day earnings, which saw a noticeable jump and collected Rs. 19 crore, benefiting from weekend footfall and positive word-of-mouth around its entertaining first half.
However, Day 3 is where things became interesting as, despite being a Sunday, the film did not see much growth and collected Rs. 23 crore according to the latest update from trade expert Sacnilk. The total domestic net collection of the film now stands at around Rs. 55 crore. The horror-comedy has grossed over Rs. 95 crore worldwide.
Three days worth of ₹95 crore is not disappointing by any means, but the “almost there” figure does raise eyebrows, especially in comparison to recent big-ticket releases. For example, we look at Dhurandhar 2, which had an incredible response over the initial weekend, coming in at about ₹110 crore. Beyond that, it crossed the ₹100 crore mark comfortably. The film also maintained momentum in subsequent weeks, leading to its estimated box office take of approximately Rs. 240 crore, establishing it as a clear winner at the box office.
In contrast, Bhooth Bangla’s slightly underwhelming Sunday result indicates that, while audiences are interested in the film, it may not have the same mass pull or repeat value like the old Khiladi Kumar films used to have.
Now, looking at Akshay Kumar’s recent track record, Bhooth Bangla falls somewhat in between. Compared to some of Kumar’s recent underperformers (Selfiee and Mission Raniganj), this Priyadarshan film is certainly an improvement in attendance. Fans appear to still enjoy Kumar’s performances from movies with a less serious tone than those of his earlier hits like Sooryavanshi.
So, is Bhooth Bangla working in Akshay’s favour?
The answer is… cautiously yes. It’s not a roaring comeback, but it is a course correction. The Film opened well, created buzz, and avoided being tagged a flop – for now. The true test will be how well it holds up on weekdays and can continue to build momentum after the opening weekend.
For Akshay Kumar, this might not be a victory lap, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.
