Box Office
Bhooth Bangla Opens Strong With ₹12.25 Crore on Day 1
Bhooth Bangla, starring Akshay Kumar, has opened to a solid start at the box office, collecting ₹12.25 crore net in India on its first day. The horror-comedy, directed by Priyadarshan, had already generated momentum through paid previews on April 16, which contributed ₹3.5 crore.
With previews included, the film’s total domestic net collection stands at ₹15.75 crore, while the India gross has reached ₹18.90 crore. Globally, the film has earned approximately ₹23.90 crore.The film witnessed a sharp rise in collections on Friday, marking an estimated 250% jump from preview earnings.
Occupancy and Show Count Reflect Gradual Growth
Released across 12,386 shows nationwide, Bhooth Bangla recorded an overall Hindi occupancy of 19% on its opening day. Morning shows began at 10.77% occupancy, improving to 19.15% in the afternoon and peaking at 31.46% during night screenings.
Regionally, Delhi-NCR led with 1,202 shows and 21% occupancy, while Mumbai registered a higher occupancy of 25% across 889 shows. The film also sold approximately 1.3 lakh tickets on Day 1, indicating steady audience turnout.
Comparison With Akshay Kumar’s Recent Releases
The opening performance places Bhooth Bangla in a mixed position among Akshay Kumar’s recent films. It is slightly below Jolly LLB 3, which opened at ₹12.5 crore, but significantly behind Housefull 5, which collected around ₹24 crore on Day 1. It outperformed Kesari Chapter 2, which opened at ₹7.76 crore.
Notably, the film marks Kumar’s biggest opener since Sooryavanshi, which had a Day 1 collection of approximately ₹26.29 crore.
Performance Within the Horror-Comedy Genre
Within the horror-comedy space, Bhooth Bangla has delivered a moderate opening. It has surpassed Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’s opening figures but remains behind several recent hits.Thamma opened at ₹24 crore, while Stree 2 set a significantly higher benchmark with ₹51.8 crore on Day 1. The film also trails Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, which opened at ₹35.5 crore.
Competition From Dhurandhar 2 Continues
At the box office, Bhooth Bangla is facing competition from Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar 2, which continues to perform steadily even after a month in theatres. On its 30th day, the film collected around ₹2.70 crore, taking its total net collection to ₹1,105.82 crore.
Cast, Production, and Creative Team
Directed by Priyadarshan, the film marks his reunion with Akshay Kumar after a string of popular collaborations including Hera Pheri, Bhagam Bhag, and Bhool Bhulaiyaa.
The ensemble cast includes Tabu, Paresh Rawal, Wamiqa Gabbi, Mithila Palkar, Rajpal Yadav, Jisshu Sengupta, and the late Asrani.
The film is presented by Balaji Motion Pictures, a division of Balaji Telefilms, in association with Cape of Good Films, and produced by Akshay Kumar, Ekta Kapoor, and Shobha Kapoor.
Director Addresses Song Similarity Claims
Amid discussions around similarities between a song in Bhooth Bangla and a track from Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, director Priyadarshan clarified the situation.
“The lyricist has written those (words), and that is why we were so confident. There’s nothing wrong in it because our film is Bhooth Bangla. You should also understand there is another film called Bhoot Bangla before, which is with Mehmood and R D Burman. So naturally, that title is repeated now. These things get repeated. Of course, as I’ve already told you, I respect Satyajit Ray like god of Indian cinema,” he said.
Early Trends and Day 2 UpdateFollowing its opening day, Bhooth Bangla showed continued but slower momentum on Day 2, collecting approximately ₹1.03 crore (early estimates). This takes the total India net to ₹17.03 crore and gross to ₹20.42 crore so far.
