Box Office Analysis: Bachchhan Paandey heads for a double-digit start; Akshay Kumar film depends on walk ins

There is a sense of panic in the trade seeing the response to advance booking of Bachchhan Paandey, which is falling short of The Kashmir Files. A section has already run down the film before it’s release, predicting a single digit opening for this Akshay Kumar starrer. But the show is yet to begin, and conventionally, Holi as a festival has been dependent on the spot bookings. Those unaware, Akshay’s 2018 release, Kesari too had below par advance ticket sales, but the walk ins through the day were impressive.

Bachchhan Paandey is expected to repeat the same feat. Of course, the biz won’t be anywhere close to the expectations that one had after the trailer launch, but the film still stands a chance of putting up a number in the vicinity of Rs 12 crore, depending on where the spot bookings land. The figure can be higher too, but all of that depends on the talk in the audience and the biz of the film towards evening and night shows. The film is releasing on nearly 3000 screens across India, but that’s irrelevant as what one should be talking about is the show count and not the screen count.

The film is in a screen sharing agreement at most single screen properties, whereas even the multiplex showcasing isn’t optimum. The final show count by the end of day should be decent, thanks to the pull of Anil Thadani in the exhibition sector. Without the competition from The Kashmir Files, Bachchhan Paandey would have taken a start anywhere between 16 and 20 crore, however, it will be impacted now by the wave of this Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri directorial. Anything below 11 crore will be considered a slow start, with 12 to 13 being a decent number and anything upside of Rs 14 crore a good start in current scenario. Though, the relatively slow start will make it essential for Bachchhan Paandey to record a steady trend on weekdays as also second weekend to emerge a successful venture given the costs involved.

Talking of advance bookings, we have been analysing samples across the nation. The showcasing too isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be, though it’s much below the expectations. We tracked 500 shows of Bachchhan Paandey in Mumbai, which has got an advance number of Rs 46 lakh gross. Likewise, in Delhi, we tracked near about 408 shows, which has fetched an advance figure of Rs 39 lakh gross. These 908 shows of Bachchhan Pandey have a near full house capacity of 5.60 crore. As compared to 908 shows of Bachchhan Paandey, the same properties have allotted 964 shows to The Kashmir Files.

Bachcchan Paandey would have to make up for the lost ground through the weekend followed by healthy weekday trend and all it needs is a good audience word of mouth. The release timing has gone wrong, with an unexpected opponent, but there’s not much that one can do. Bachchhan Paandey can still stand up for itself if audience embrace the content, as there’s a wide audience for a mass commercial entertainer. Pandemic has been the time of surprises and let’s hope, we get another surprise with this week’s release. Stay tuned to PInkvilla for the box office coverage of Bachchhan Paandey.

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