Box office collection: Ajay Devgan’s 'Bholaa' woos masses, surpasses Rs 18 crore by Friday

Directed and produced by Ajay Devgn, Bholaa stars Devgn, Tabu, Vineet Kumar, Deepak Dobariyal, Gajraj Rao and Sanjay Mishra. (Image source: Twitter/AjayDevgn)

Mass belts have accounted for more than half the collections for Ajay Devgn’s Bholaa on Days 1 and 2 of its run in theatres. The film released on Thursday (March 30, 2023), which being Ram Navami was a partial holiday. Collections on Day 1 (Thursday) stood at Rs 11.20 crore. By Friday, Bholaa had amassed another Rs 7.40 crore to take the earnings so far to Rs 18.60 crore.

Usually, there's a 50:50 split in earnings from the national multiplex chains and the rest of the country for big Bollywood releases. That said non-national theatres have contributed 60 percent to the earnings of Bholaa so far. A skew in the opposite direction is visible for Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway, starring Rani Mukerji, which was more multiplex-oriented and where over 70 percent of the numbers have come in from premium properties.

The numbers for Bholaa dipped on Friday - a working day for most - but are expected to rise again on Saturday and climb higher on Sunday, in line with the trends seen in mass-centric films previously. This is when the action drama is expected to fire away big time and if that happens, and somehow the collections hit the Rs 15 crore mark on Sunday, then it would be pretty much game on.

Meanwhile, last week it was Hollywood that kept the audiences busy as John Wick: Chapter 4 ended up bringing in Rs 36 crore*. Not that these were great numbers, but then when the majority of Bollywood films are failing left, right and center and even Rs 20-30 crore are hard to come by, at least these are decent enough numbers.

That said, the collections were expected to be at least Rs 45 crore since the opening weekend (including paid previews) brought in around Rs 27 crore. However, the film couldn’t collect even Rs 10 crore between Monday and Thursday, which shows how it was primarily the weekend audience patronising the film with the word of mouth not really being great. This can well be seen from the second Friday numbers which have come down to Rs 1 crore*. The film would now have a slow journey towards the Rs 50 crore mark as the overall numbers now stands at just Rs 37 crore*.

As for the Bollywood releases, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar and Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway stay on to be in circulation, with the former leading the show last week too despite being in its third week. While Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar brought in around Rs 14 crore* during the third week, it held on decently on fourth Friday as well, as a result of which the overall numbers currently stand at Rs 136 crore*. With the youth flocking to watch the film over the weekend, the film could go past the Rs 140 crore mark this week and then hang in there till Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan arrives on April 21.

Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway has already made up its cost from the sale of the satellite and OTT rights. Its current score reads Rs 17.30 crore* and while it’s playing on fewer screens for fewer shows, that’s expected, given its niche nature. If the film excellent weekend, it could go past Rs 18 crore today and then a Rs 20 crore total could well be within reach by the close of week. Post that, whatever comes in would be bonus collections.

*Estimates. Final numbers awaited.

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources