Valentine's Day and Gully Boy make up for an exciting week at the box office

Image: Twitter/ @ranveersingh

Love is in the air this week thanks to Valentine’s Day. And cinemas have  managed to make it even more exciting with the release of Ranveer Singh-starrer Gully Boy. The proof of this is in the morning occupancy in theatres registered by the film, in the range of 40-45 percent all over the country.

While the film is witnessing large traction over V-Day celebrations, experts say that it is the film’s strong content that is helping it get big opening numbers like Rs 19.40 crore.

Rap music has found renewed attention not amid people but also the music industry of which it has become an integral part.

Film trade analyst Taran Adarsh also tweeted that Valentine's Day, which is no an official holiday, gave a massive boost to Gully Boy.

In an earlier interview with Moneycontrol, film trade analyst Komal Nahta had also predicted the film to begin its journey at Rs 20 crore. According to his estimate, Gully Boy might fall in the range of Rs 80-85 crore. However there are predictions that it could enter Rs 100 crore club. If the film does so then it would be one the fastest entry in the century club.

Early trends suggest that Gully Boy on its second day managed Rs 12-14 crore but the drop is due to a normal weekday. And the film is likely to pick up pace during the weekend.

In fact, Nahta had also said that the makers should have released the film last week (February 8) to enjoy a two-week window as there were no big releases last week. The film will face competition from multi-starrer Total Dhamaal, which will hit theatres on February 22.

With 3,350 screens in India, Gully Boy has emerged as second biggest opener for Ranveer Singh and highest opener for his co-star Alia Bhat. The film is slightly lower than last year’s big-ticket release Simmba that had earned Rs 20.72 crore on opening day.

Releasing in 751 screens overseas, Gully Boy started its international journey on a strong note and it is performing well in key offshore markets.

With Gully Boy looking strong at the box office, this could be Ranveer Singh’s third consecutive hit in last four months.

Good content is contributing to strong box office numbers and are also helping media companies perform better. This week, Mukta Arts posted its third quarter results and its managing director Rahul Puri said that better content gave boost to the company’s (Mukta A2 Cinemas) revenues.

But the week was not only about films as brands left no stone unturned to make Valentine’s week for consumers. Be it cheaper flights or giving gift vouchers to loved ones, options are galore as V-Day has become much celebrated in India.