No dearth of content in 2018: Bollywood to see 8 box office clashes in coming months

2018 is proving to be a good year for the Indian film industry with Bollywood alone doing business of over Rs 2,210 crore during the first six months of the year. And the second half looks even more promising with a strong line-up of films.

From Aamir Khan’s Thugs of Hindostan to Shah Rukh’s Zero, Bollywood has a lot to offer to its audience in the second half. But higher the number of films, higher the chances of a box office clash. And this is what the industry will witness in the coming months. There are going to be as many as eight movie clashes in H2.

The first big clash of 2018 will strike during the end of July. Taapsee Pannu, Rishi Kapoor-starrer Mulk will release on the same date as Nawabzaade, starring Shradhha Kapoor and Varun Dhawan on July 27.

Banking on the Independence Day holiday, two films will share the same release date — Akshay Kumar’s Gold and John Abraham’s Satyamev Jayate. August has more in store with as many as six films releasing on the same day, just before the month ends.

On August 31, Stree, Bollywood’s another attempt at the horror genre, will hit the theatres along with Shahid Kapoor’s Batti Gul Meter Chalu, Rishi Kapoor’s Rajma Chawal, Andhadhun starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Mahesh Bhatt directorial Jalebi and Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir se.

The start of September will see three films coming together with JP Dutta’s Paltan, Anurag Kashyap’s Manmarziyaan and Jacqueline Fernandez-starrer Drive releasing on September 7.

There will be a face-off between three films on September 28 — Manikarnika, Sui Dhaga with Anushka Sharma and Varun Dhawan in leading roles and Vishal Bhardwaj’s Pataakha.

This Dussehra, moviegoers will have plenty of options as Vidyut Jammwal-starring Junglee, Sunny Deol’s Bhaiyyaji Superhit, Badhaai Ho and Namaste England will release on October 19.

While not exactly a box office clash, Rajinikanth’s 2.0 and Abhishek Kapoor’s Kedarnath will release a day apart. Rajinikanth will open on November 29 and Kedarnath on November 30.

The last clash of 2018 will be on December 21 — between Shah Rukh Khan’s Zero and Anupam Kher’s The Accidental Prime Minister.

While film trade analysts believe that same-day releases can impact the overall collections of the industry due to lack of adequate number of screens, there are no two big-ticket films clashing on the same date in the second half of 2018. And this means that movie buffs will have plenty of content to keep themselves entertained.