The box office got a huge boost last week with the release of Alia Bhatt-starrer ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’. The hope was that it would collect Rs. 7-8 crore on first day at best but it managed to collect Rs. 9.75 crore and then jumped to Rs. 12.50 crore on Saturday and Rs. 15.25 crore on Sunday. It remained rock-steady on Monday as evening shows did very well due to the holiday on Tuesday. Tuesday, the day of Mahashivratri, obviously had encouraging collections. The first week collections are expected to be in the Rs. 63-66 crore range, which is incredible. If it holds well in the second week, it can even cross the Rs. 100 crore club.
Meanwhile, two significant films would be up for release this Friday. ‘Jhund’, starring Amitabh Bachchan, is directed by Nagraj Popatrao Manjule, of ‘Sairat’ (2016) fame. The film is the story of an adamant teacher who teaches football to slum kids to keep them away from crime and drugs. The trailer has been appreciated and the film looks like a realistic saga. However, it also seems highly entertaining and that can be a plus point. The reviews are out and it has given some sort of a boost to the buzz. Nevertheless, the opening will be around Rs. 2 crore at best. It can grow dramatically on Saturday and Sunday if the public also enjoys the film as much as the critics. There are also talks that it’ll get a tax free status. This will benefit the film even more.
The other release is the Hollywood superhero actioner, ‘The Batman’. It is a reboot of this superhero franchise, starring Robert Pattinson in the role of the lead protagonist. In India, the film has generated some buzz even though the promotions are limited. The film was released today in IMAX and tomorrow, it’ll have a release in the non-IMAX format. The footfalls today are going to be huge as almost everywhere, all shows of The Batman are sold out. Tomorrow, once it has a full-fledged release, it might open at around Rs. 3-4 crore and has an outside chance of collecting Rs. 6 crore. The film has an issue of long length – it’s 176 minutes long. The reviews have to be positive for it to sustain. Coincidentally, ‘Jhund’ is also nearly three hours long.
The other release of the week is ‘Toolsidas Junior’. It is a delayed film, produced by Ashutosh Gowariker and T-Series. It is also the last film of Rajiv Kapoor, who passed away in February 2021. Sanjay Dutt also stars in this film that is based on the game of pool. The trailer did catch some attention. However, the makers have not done any sort of promotion at all. Most of the moviegoers are not aware of it. Hence, it is expected to hardly get any screens. It’s collections would be disastrous, even if the film has good word of mouth.
