With 120 Bahadur getting some good reviews coming its way, one waited to see if word-of-mouth will catch up and the collections will double up on Saturday. That didn’t quite turn out to be the case though as from Rs. 2 crores that were collected on Friday, the film moved to Rs. 3.25 crores on Saturday. Though growth is there, bigger jump was the need of the hour.

The Farhan Akhtar starrer is primarily for the major multiplexes at key urban centres and its doing well in pockets. However, the budget of the film warranted that it does well across board, at least, in all the multiplexes of A centres. This is what had helped Bhaag Milkha Bhaag emerge as a Rs. 100 Crore Club superhit and that film had got some support from B centres as well. However, 120 Bahadur has arrived at a time when it’s increasingly difficult to get audiences to theatres and that’s showing in the collections so far.

Two days’ numbers for the film are Rs. 5.25 crores and had this been the opening day number, then it would have been far better. There is a huge journey ahead for 120 Bahadur and one now waits to see if there is some substantial growth today that could make one look forward to the footfalls during the weekdays.

Note: All collections as per various box office sources

There was hardly any movement for Mastiii 4 as the film couldn’t touch Rs. 3 crores mark even on Saturday. After taking a poor opening of Rs. 2.25 crores on Friday, the only hope that the film had was to somehow reach, at least, Rs. 3 crores on Saturday and then Rs. 4 crores on Sunday. That would have given it a chance to be more than one week show. However, with the film failing to grown much on Saturday, the writing is clear on the wall.

The adult comedy managed to bring in a mere Rs. 2.35 crores on Saturday and that pretty much deals the deal for it. The trending indicates that Rs. 2.50 crores would be the best case scenario on Sunday, which means the weekend will stay under the Rs. 7 crores mark. Last instalment of the franchise, Great Grand Masti, was a disaster and had relatively better trajectory with weekend collections reading Rs. 8.20 crores. Now, Mastiii 4 will find itself lower than that.

So far, this Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi and Aftab Shivdasani starrer has collected Rs. 4.60 crores and ideally this should have been the first day score for any chance of a run. Low collections like these don’t really augur well for a genre like this, which had its best audiences in its opening weekend, and now it’s all about collecting as much as it can before Tere Ishk Mein and Gustaakh Ishq arrive on the coming Friday.

Note: All collections as per various box office sources

120 Bahadur has seen a wide release for itself. However, its opening day has been quite low as merely Rs. 2.25 crores came in. For an expensive film, which has been shot outdoors and at real locations in the mountains and the rugged terrains, there is quite some moolah that has gone into putting it together. Moreover, a large starcast and a period war drama setting means that the scale shows on screen. Hence, the film warranted a good start for itself, at least in the range of Rs. 5-6 crores.

It will now all boil down to word-of-mouth though and that too at a very rapid pace. At the very least, it would need to double the collections today and then triple them tomorrow and then continue with similar kind of pace and momentum in weekdays to come as well. It’s an uphill journey from here for the film because even though there is hardly any competition this week with Mastiii 4 not opening well either and De De Pyaar De 2 too getting into lower numbers, there is a plethora of releases from next week on with Tere Ishk Mein being the big one.

There is a definite intent that one can see behind the making of 120 Bahadur as the story absolutely surprises you for its audacity. There was good effort in the marketing and promotional campaign as well. However, somehow the audiences weren’t enticed enough to jump into theatres on the very first day and now it has to be seen what’s the kind of distance that this Farhan Akhtar film manages to cover in days to come.

Note: All collections as per various box office sources

It was a fair first week for De De Pyaar De 2 as Rs. 49.90 crores came in. Not that it’s surprising since the weekend trend had indicated that this would be the range in which the film will operate, especially since the reports were mixed with the overall content being decent at best.

If one compares this with De De Pyaar De, which was a far more wholesome affair, then that film had collected Rs. 61.05 crores in its first week and that too way back in 2019 when the release was smaller, ticket prices were lesser and there were no mid-week offers either. However, that film had good word of mouth at the urban centres and as a result it went on to enter the Rs. 100 Crore Club. In case of the sequel, since there is a gap already in the first week and then there are multiple releases every week, this won’t turn out to be the case.

It should still end up stretching towards the Rs. 75 crores mark and that would be a better result than Son Of Sardaar 2 (Rs. 43 crores), a number which has already been crossed earlier this week itself. The overall outcome of the film is fair as it’s in line with majority of romcoms that have been released post pandemic and even recent arrivals Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari and Param Sundari. However, since this is a bigger film with a bigger cast and set up, one does have better expectations as well.

Note: All collections as per various box office sources

The Farhan Akhtar led 120 Bahadur is all set to arrive in the cinema halls tomorrow and the film has scored poor results in the advance bookings across the national multiplex chains. As on Thursday at 9 PM, the army-thriller has sold 7500 tickets across the Top 3 national chains, and is looking to close with a final advance under the 10,000 tickets range.

The film is headed to record low results on the opening day, as the advance booking trends are indicative of the first day biz to be in the range of Rs. 2.50 crore to Rs. 3 crore. 120 Bahadur is an expensive film and the start-leaves a lot for it to make up in the longer run.

The second release of the week, Mastiii 4 is meeting an even worse fate as the advance bookings are subpar. At 9 PM on Thursday, the film has sold merely 4,500 across Top 3 national multiplex chains, and will close with total advance of 6,000 tickets. With the advance booking trends, it looks like a Rs. 2 crore start for Mastiii 4, but being an adult comedy, the film could put up a better show in walk in audience and have a shot to reduce the gap with 120 Bahadur.

All in all, it's a dull weekend ahead, though positive word of mouth for both the flms can change the tide over the weekend.

If the advance booking so far is any indication, then Bollywood can well brace up for a dull Friday ahead. The plans did open yesterday but the ticket sales are rather muted, what with both 120 Bahadur as well as Mastiii 4 waiting for their audiences. Hardly any tickets have been sold so far and though there is a day remaining for the momentum to pick up, it doesn’t look like the number would top the 10,000 mark before the first show commences.

Both the films are absolutely contrasting to each other and cater to distinct demographics and audience base. 120 Bahadur is a war drama and has a patriotic flavour to it. The Farhan Akhtar led film has been promoted for last few months already and in the last couple of weeks the momentum has further picked up. It’s catering entirely to multiplex audiences. On the other hand, Mastiii 4 is the kind of film that works well with the single screen audiences but then we hardly have any such screens left today. Masti and Grand Masti had done quite well though Great Grand Masti was a disaster. However, the makers intend to revive the franchise as well as the genre with Mastiii 4 and are expecting entry to step in.

Both the films would be dependent on word of mouth and when it comes to spot booking, Mastiii 4 may just have an edge on the first day. While one waits to see what happens on Saturday, at least on Friday expect a slow start with both the movies looking at an opening of Rs. 2-3 crores each.

It was a decent weekend for De De Pyaar De 2 as Rs. 38.43 crores came in. The collections are exactly the same as its predecessor De De Pyaar De, which had brought in Rs. 38.54 crores in its first weekend, though it was many years back. For a sequel to arrive and that too while carrying the same story forward, one expects a progression in numbers instead of remaining on the same lines. Still, the fact also remains that the romcom genre has its own limitations today and what’s coming in now is on the expected lines and also decent enough.

This was seen on Sunday as well when Rs. 15.21 crores were collected. De De Pyaar De had collected Rs. 14.74 crores on Sunday, so this is slightly better and shown that there is an audience out there which has liked the film. In fact, the film could have done better had the middle portions of the narrative been more engaging and Ajay Devgn had a more active part to play in the narrative. However, with the focus on the film being the father-daughter story, the ‘sur’ of the narrative was more dramatic than humorous, something that audiences would have enjoyed more.

Nonetheless, all eyes are now on how does the entire first week of the film turns out to be. De De Pyaar De had remained stable on weekdays and collected more than Rs. 22 crores in its next 4 days, as a result of which the first week collections came to Rs. 61.05 crores. However, these are different times now and the Monday holds have become more and more difficult, especially so with Blockbuster Tuesday offer resulting in changed dynamics. For De De Pyaar De 2 to get more than Rs. 20 crores now in the weekdays, Monday would need to be at least Rs. 5.50 crores and preferably Rs. 6 crores. That would decide its journey towards Rs. 100 crores mark.

Note: All collections as per various box office sources

De De Pyaar De 2 saw a decent opening at the box office as Rs. 9.45 crores came in. The film has taken a better start than expected as it was predicted in this column that 7-8 crores would come in and the numbers are better than that. Of course, a double-digit start would have had a better ring than this but then post the trailer launch which saw a very good response, the follow through wasn’t as aggressive.

As a result, the advance booking was hardly there which ruled out the chances of an opening of over Rs. 10 crores. However, considering this scenario, it’s good that the film has come close to that number at least, courtesy improved footfalls in the evening and night shows when family audiences started stepping in.

What’s required though is for the momentum to continue as the opening day is slightly lesser than the first day collections of De De Pyaar De which had seen Rs. 10.41 crores coming in. This means that apart from a bit of catching up to do, the film also needs to have a good trajectory so that it can at least match up the first weekend numbers of the first part (Rs. 38.54 crores). This would require some push indeed, especially today so that collections reach Rs. 13-14 crores, and one wait to see if that happens indeed.

Note: All collections as per various box office sources

The Ajay Devgn led romantic comedy, De De Pyaar De 2 released in cinema halls today and has opened on the expected lines. According to very early estimates, the Luv Ranjan production has collected in the range of Rs. 8.25 crores to Rs. 8.75 crores on Friday, which is in sync with the pre-release expectations.

However, a start of Rs. 10 crores would have been ideal for the film. De De Pyaar De 2 will now be looking at a jump in collections on the second day. Ideally, this is a Saturday film and hence, the surge in business to Rs. 10 crores on the second day will put it in a good spot to score reasonable weekend results.

With a start of Rs. 8.50 crores, De De Pyaar De 2 will aim for a first weekend of Rs. 30 crore plus, and then show a strong hold on Monday to emerge as a successful venture. The start is more or less in the same range as Son of Sardar 2, but the weekend trajectory could be better, as this is an urban film, and the Saturday spike could put the film in a better place.

De De Pyaar De 2 is a sequel to De De Pyaar De, and the makers are hoping for the film to continue the success streak of the franchise. The eyes are now fixated on the surge on Saturday.

The reunion of Ajay Devgn and Rakul Preet Singh on the Bhushan Kumar and Luv Ranjan produced De De Pyaar De 2 is all set to release tomorrow, and if the advance booking trends are anything to go by, the film will be relying strongly on the walk-in audience. As on Thursday at 5.30 PM, the romantic comedy has sold 16,000 tickets across the top 3 national chains - PVRInox and Cinepolis - and is looking at a final in zone of 30,000 tickets by mid-night. The advances opened on Tuesday morning, and the film has managed to sell 16,000 tickets since then.

The advances will be lower than films like Jolly LLB 3 and Son of Sardar 2, more in the range of Param Sundari. The rom-com genre has it tough in the post-pandemic world, and De De Pyaar De 2 will be fighting these limitations. However, the De De Pyaar De franchise has the entertainment quotient to attract footfalls beyond the advance ticketing, and the first day of the film is expected to be around the Rs. 7 crore mark, after which it will rely on strong word of mouth to result in a jump in business over the weekend.

With a strong entertainment factor in the offing, DDPD 2 will be looking to show a big jump in business on Saturday and also get families on board on Sunday.

This Friday sees the release of De De Pyaar De 2, sequel to De De Pyaar De which had done well in multiplexes at urban centres and ended up entering the Rs. 100 Crore Club. The Ajay Devgn and Rakul Preet Singh starrer has actually survived over the years with quite some traction on social media as well, which had kept the story alive.

Hence, it made sense as well for the story to be taken forward as a sequel since there is a lot that can be done with the subbed at hand, that of a middle aged man falling in love with the girl half his age. Moreover, this time around it’s the theme of ‘Meet The Parents’ added for good measure as well with Madhavan stepping in as Rakul’s father. This isn’t all as a younger male lead too is added to the romcom drama with Meezaan Jafri in the fold.

Trailer of the film was good and hence it seemed like the opening would be better than the first part (Rs. 10.41 crores). Ideally, the film should have been aiming for Rs. 13-15 crores. However, romcoms have their own limitation when it comes to the first day numbers and that has now been seen multiple times, especially post pandemic, with the recent examples being Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari and Param Sundari. The difference though is that in this case, the film is helmed by Ajay Devgn and hence you do expect a reasonably good opening at least.

However, if advance booking so far is any indication, the film is looking at an opening day of Rs. 7-8 crores. It would be a pleasant surprise if this number is exceeded but for now this seems to be the best-case scenario, though the trailer did indicate a double-digit opening.

It was Blockbuster Tuesday yesterday and the tickets were available at reduced prices. However, the collections went up only somewhat for Haq as from Rs. 1.10 crore on Monday, it was now Rs. 1.70 crore being collected on Tuesday.

The trending is not surprising though since Saturday to Sunday jump was hardly there and then the film dropped on Monday when compared to Friday, and that shouldn’t have happened if a readable lifetime score was to be put together by the Yami Gautam Dhar and Emraan Hashmi starrer. The trending would have been better on Tuesday had Monday collections been in the vicinity of Rs. 1.75 crore. That would have allowed the collections to hit Rs. 2 crores mark again. However, with that not happening, the film would at best stay around Rs. 1 crore mark today, though for that to happen tomorrow as well it would need some push.

The social drama has now collected Rs. 12.81 crores so far. The aim would be to first reach Rs. 20 crores mark and then aim to bring in whatever additional comes in as an added bonus.

Note: All collections as per various box office sources

Haq had a fair weekend at the box office when after an ordinary Friday, it did pick up on Saturday, only to have limited growth on Sunday. With Rs. 10.1 crores coming in, everything depended on how Monday hold would look like since it was paramount to a decent lifetime total coming in. The need of the hour was for the collections to be similar or at least close to Friday which had seen Rs. 2.03 crores been accumulated.

However, the drop was more than expected as Rs. 1.10 crore came in. Even if Rs. 1.50 crore had come in, then that would have ensured that till Thursday the film would have stayed over the Rs. 1 crore mark. However, this drop means that while today the film will still stay over Rs. 1 crore due to Blockbuster Tuesday offer, for tomorrow and day after it could well be touch and go.

The film doesn’t have any competition around it, which means the stage is wide open for it to perform at least at major multiplexes in core urban centres. This is where the film’s target audience lies as well. With 11.11 crores collected so far, the film would cross Rs. 13 crores by the close of first week. However, for 20 crores lifetime to be reached, it would all boil down to how does second Friday hold up. Eventually, it should still reach there but all associated with the film would have expected a lifetime of Rs. 30-40 crores given the pre-release hype and critical acclaim.

Note: All collections as per various box office sources

On Saturday, November 8, Bollywood Hungama reported how the Gujarati movie Laalo - Krishna Sada Sahaayate is on a blockbuster spree. While it earned just around Rs. 1.34 crores in the first three weeks, it managed to collect a whopping Rs. 14 crores approx. in Week 4. In week 5, it has the highest screen count, with shows increasing even more on Saturday and Sunday. It collected Rs. 2.50 crores approx. on its fifth Friday and then it earned Rs. 5 crores approximately and a huge Rs. 7.50 crores approximately on its fifth Saturday and Sunday, respectively. In short, Laalo - Krishna Sada Sahaayate is the best-performing film in the country. No other film collected as much in the previous weekend as this divine flick.

Realizing that the demand remains, distributors have asked cinemas to make a slight adjustment to the Tuesday offer. A trade source told Bollywood Hungama, “The distributors sent an e-mail to all the cinemas on Saturday itself when they knew that the film would put up a huge number in Week 5. On Tuesdays, the tickets are usually sold for Rs. 99 by many halls. But the distributors asked all the cinemas not to do so. They have been specifically instructed that the price of the regular seats should be Rs. 149 and that of the premium class be Rs. 199 or Rs. 299 or Rs. 399, depending on how elite the cinema hall is. The mail also reiterates that no ticket of Laalo - Krishna Sada Sahaayate should be sold for less than Rs. 149.”

Amusingly, despite this instruction, a few cinemas are selling tickets for Rs. 99 or Rs. 92 (the new price point for many theatres after GST cut). But most of the theatres have adhered to the price strategy and as expected, several shows are getting sold out.

Laalo - Krishna Sada Sahaayate crossed the Rs. 30 crores mark on Sunday and now, it remains to be seen how soon it’ll enter the Rs. 40 crores club. The next aim will be to go past the Rs. 50 crores mark. It now also aims to break the long-standing record of Chaal Jeevi Laiye, the 2019 feel good film which, believe it or not, is still running in cinemas. That film collected around Rs. 52 crores and the way Laalo - Krishna Sada Sahaayate is performing, it has a possibility of being the highest Gujarati grosser ever.

Shockingly, a month ago, no one imagined in their wildest dreams that Laalo - Krishna Sada Sahaayate, made at Rs. 50 lakhs, and which had no star cast, would manage to do such historic business. Its collections in the first 3 weeks were paltry, but soon, the word of mouth took over and the rest is history.

The court room drama HAQ starring Yami Gautam and Emraan Hashmi has taken an average start at the box office in India. According to early trends, the Suparn Verma directorial has collected in the range of Rs. 1.50 crores to Rs. 2 crores, which is on the expected lines.

The film has matched pre-release expectations for the opening day, and it's now on it to capitalise with a strong spike in business over the weekend. It's a must for this Yami Gautam and Emraan Hashmi starrer to double up on Saturday, and then show another spike on Sunday to be on track to emerge as a success story.

Haq is made on a limited budget, and it will be a financially safe venture once the business tops the Rs. 25 crores. The early reports are positive, and the eyes are on the trajectory over the weekend. Haq will aim to hit the Rs. 7.50 crore mark over the weekend, and then score a Monday equal to Friday.

The film is produced by Junglee Pictures and set against the backdrop of a courtroom case that has found a place in the history books

Baahubali: The Epic is first of its kind experiment where two epic parts of Baahubali were merged and released as a single film with a running duration of around 3:45 hours. A never heard before phenomenon, this seemed really exciting because SS Rajamouli has created a modern-day classic which is still fresh in everyone’s mind after 10 years.

Perhaps that’s the reason why the kind of box office response that one anticipates from the re-release hasn’t really been seen at theatres. When it comes to films like Sanam Teri Kasam, Tumbbad or Laila Majnu that had seen minimal business in their original release, then there is an audience out there which wants to see these for the “first time” in theatres as they missed it earlier. However, when a phenomenon like Baahubali arrives then majority has already watched it at the big screen and hence it’s primarily the hardcore fans who come to theatres again to relive the experience.

This is the reason why the Telugu version still has a better start with a weekend of around Rs. 22 crores since there is huge fan service for Prabhas and Rajamouli online that circuit. However, in Hindi it was very selective footfalls despite a good release and hence the weekend was Rs. 4 crores after a fair start of Rs. 1.15 crore and then the weekdays have got into lakhs zone with five-day collections standing at Rs. 4.35 crores.

The film should ideally have done better since there is huge effort that has gone into remastering the print and the audio as well as visual appeal has been accentuated in a major way for today’s theatrical experience. One now waits to see if there is some sort of sustainability that is seen, now that the initial euphoria has settled.

Note: All collections as per various box office sources

Diwali is through and Thamma and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat have done their maximum business already. There is no threat for new releases this weekend and if merits are right then they can well find their audience without facing any competition from holdovers releases, including Baahubali - The Epic which has had a rather low first week.

The films which are arriving this week are Haq and Jatadhara. Both are as different from each other as they can be, what with former being inspired by real life events and latter being a fantasy tale. Yami Gautam leads the charge in Haq which has Emraan Hashmi as her adversary. The film has seen a limited and minimal promotional and marketing period and is primarily catering to niche audiences at urban multiplexes. The trailer of the film is decent and has fetched some eyeballs. This should ensure some sort of a start for the film and the first day could well be in Rs. 3-4 crores range.

As for Jatadhara, it’s a Telugu-Hindi bilingual with Sonakshi Sinha and Sudheer Babu coming together along with Shilpa Shirodkar making a comeback and Divya Khosla Kumar in a special appearance. The film has been promoted and marketed rather extensively, and especially in south it should take a better start due to the genre and the elements involved. In Hindi though it would all boil down to word of mouth, which means the first day could well be in Rs. 2-3 crores range and then merits of the film would take over the rest of the weekend.

The Gujarati film, Chaniya Toli, which was released on Diwali, has emerged as a huge hit at the box office. Produced by Anand Pandit's Anand Pandit Motion Pictures and Vaishal Shah's Jannock Films, the comic caper, which tells the story of a group of village women robbing a bank, had generated tremendous pre-release buzz. There were apprehensions about whether it would be able to withstand competition from the big Hindi releases on Diwali, that is, Thamma and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat. Chaniya Toli not only gave a tough fight to these two films but is collecting much more than them in Gujarat since last week.

Chaniya Toli released in cinemas on Tuesday October 21 and opened at Rs. 1.12 crores, which is a feat, considering it’s a regional film and also the competition from the Bollywood films. The collections jumped to Rs. 1.24 crores on Wednesday and Rs. 1.36 crores on Friday. The earnings further increased to Rs. 1.64 crore on Saturday and Rs. 1.68 crore on Sunday. All films dropped majorly on Monday, October 27, but Chaniya Toli ended up netting Rs. 83 lakhs. On Tuesday, the film got advantage of the discounted tickets offer and it collected Rs. 1.02 crore. The Wednesday and Thursday collections were Rs. 81 lakhs and Rs. 68 lakhs, respectively.

Until Thursday, Chaniya Toli has collected Rs. 11.90 crores and is already a huge super-hit. The film was made in just Rs. 5 crores, with Rs. 3.50 crores spent on production and Rs. 1.50 crores on P&A. The film has already earned more than double its investment and is now all set to emerge as the biggest Gujarati film of 2025 as it's all set to cross the lifetime of films like All The Best Pandya and Umbarro. It’ll cross the Rs. 15 crores mark on weekdays and if all goes well, it has the potential to enter the Rs. 20 crore club as well.

What has stunned the trade and industry is that Chaniya Toli’s collections began to go past that of Thamma from Monday, October 27, and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat from Friday, October 24, in Gujarat. We went through the data of Rajhans Cinemas, which has a strong presence in the Western state. On Monday, while Thamma collected Rs. 8.66 lakhs and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat collected Rs. 8.11 lakhs in Rajhans, Chaniya Toli accumulated Rs. 11.75 lakhs.

The gap widened in the weekend gone by. On Sunday, November 2, Chaniya Toli earned a huge Rs. 13.95 lakhs. As for Thamma, it earned Rs. 7.79 lakhs and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat collected Rs. 6.93 lakhs. In short, the collections of the Gujarati film are now nearly double of the other two Hindi movies and this is surely a rare feat.

Directed by Jay Bodas and Parth Trivedi, Chaniya Toli stars popular actor Yash Soni and he’s joined by Ragi Jani, Netri Trivedi, Nikita Sharma, Jassi Gadhvi, Sohni Bhatt, Heena Jaikishan, Kalpana Gagdekar and Shilpa Thaker. The film has been loved for its treatment, grandeur, performances and comic quotient. The team also deserves credit for correctly marketing the film with its quirky promo and eye-catching posters. An item song ‘Popat’, featuring Janki Bodiwala of Vash and Shaitaan fame, helped the film make noise before it arrived in theatres.

The collections of Chaniya Toli, Thamma and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat in Rajhans cinemas from October 31 – November 2

Friday Thamma - 6,81,577 Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat - 5,17,545 Chaniya Toli - 11,37,894

Saturday Thamma - 8,49,924 Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat - 6,65,109 Chaniya Toli - 12,75,826

Sunday Thamma - 7,79,284 Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat - 6,93,096 Chaniya Toli - 13,95,406