Slow start seen for box office this Dec; Bollywood may gross Rs 4 cr in first weekend

December has historically been the most profitable month for the Hindi film industry. However, this December may pan out a tad differently due to a slow start with only mid-sized films, and delay in a major release - Padmavati, earlier slated for a December 1 release.

After facing delays, the two films -- Kapil Sharma’s Firangi and Arbaaz Khan, Sunny Leone-starrer Tera Intezaar -- are finally playing in theatres. Both the films together may bring revenue worth Rs 4 crore this Friday.

Firangi is Sharma’s second offering after Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon that earned Rs 7.68 crore on its first day. The film went on to rake in Rs 58.40 crore in the domestic market and gross Rs 71.60 crore worldwide.

However, film trade analysts are not very hopeful on Sharma’s new venture and expect collections of around Rs 3 to 4 crore on day one.

Made with a budget of Rs 25 crore and slated for release on over 1,300 screens, Firangi’s opening day collection is lower than Sharma’s first outing. According to film trade analysts, Firangi is likely to earn Rs 10 crore over the weekend. However, this will still be 2.5 times lower in comparison to Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon which minted Rs 24.03 crore over the first weekend.

Experts believe the collections for Firangi might take a hit due to Sharma’s popular television show ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’, which had become a household name, going off-air.

Running on 1,150 screens, the other Bollywood release Tera Intezaar worth Rs 12 crore may bring around Rs 1 crore to the box office on day one.

Made with a modest budget the film could collect as much as Sharma’s film and over the weekend its revenue could go up to Rs 12-14 crore in the first week possibly on positive word of mouth reviews. But if the movie receives negative reviews then the business could come down to Rs 4-5 crore in week one.

For movie lovers in India, there is a Hollywood release this Friday—Wonder starring-Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson. The film is touted to be this year’s The Blind Side and has already pocketed USD 73 million in the US as of November 29 on a USD 20 million production budget.