More than two weeks have passed since the release of Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. Looking at their opening and week-on-week performance, the trade experts agreed that had these films been released solo, the business would have been much more.
Trade veteran Taran Adarsh explained, “Both films could have collected 25-30% more. They lost out on screens and shows. They couldn’t open the advance booking earlier because they were fighting for screens until the last minute. A prominent North India exhibitor told me, ‘The audience is coming to buy tickets for both films. And we had to turn them away saying, ‘Humein khud ko nahin pata kaunsi film aane waali hai hamare theatre mein’. So it was disturbing that moviegoers had to return empty-handed. This time, it got quite messy.”
Girish Johar, producer and film business analyst, felt, “Both movies would have done 30% more business.”
Trade analyst Atul Mohan gave a detailed explanation, “Both would have opened bigger. Both films had the potential of being one of the biggest or maybe the biggest openers of the year. It would have had a bountiful weekend.”
He continued, “They suffered a dent of 30-35%. Had these films released solo, a Rs. 50 crores plus opening was confirmed for both the films. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 might have opened less than Rs. 50 crores by a few crores but Singham Again had the potential to open in the Rs. 55 crores range. They would have got more screens. These films crossed the Rs. 100 crore mark in 3 days. As a solo release, they would have crossed the Rs. 100 crore mark in 2 days and had a weekend of Rs. 130-140 crores plus.”
Film exhibitor and distributor Akshaye Rathi, however, disagreed, “Had both the films run to house full capacities all across the board, there would have been a lot of cannibalization of revenues. However, though both did well, they didn’t run to 100% occupancy. All the conversation and the buzz that the clash created probably benefitted both. It also created some sort of FOMO among patrons and that definitely helped the film.”
Atul Mohan, meanwhile, complained about the inflated ticket rates, “Pricing ne gadbad kar diya. I was shocked to see that even in Patna, the tickets were priced at Rs. 450, that too after Diwali. The theatres should ideally have kept the prices competitive to maintain the flow of the audience. Maybe, the rates could have been reasonable in the morning and afternoon and for evening and shows, they could have charged popular or blockbuster rates.”
He added, “Many, who were put off by the high rates in the weekend, would have preferred to wait until Monday-Tuesday for the prices to come down. Sadly, that didn’t happen. A film is also a perishable commodity. When the film is hot, the audience will come in but after the initial euphoria, the footfall might be impacted.”
Also Read: Trade experts predict lifetime collections of Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3: “BB3 can go beyond 275 crores with an open run until December 5”
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