So what is it that has been achieved by the two endings of Sajid Nadiadwala’s Housefull 5? Any positive outcome? Or have they harmed the box-office prospects of the fifth film in the comedy franchise?
While it is only the first day of the film, some conclusions can be drawn for sure. The experiment has definitely not helped improve the film’s box-office performance. Whether it is harming the business prospects, only time will tell.
First things, first. While the producer had both the versions certified by the CBFC, he has released the version with the first ending in 70% of the screens while the version with the second ending has opened today in the remaining 30% of the screens. What is different in the two endings? It is the murderer who is different in the two versions. For example, if the killer in the first version is X, that in the second version is Y. Nadiadwala has preferred to differentiate between the two versions by referring to them as Housefull 5 A and Housefull 5 B.
Why the difference in the two versions is not expected to augment the film’s box-office collections is because the film is not carrying extraordinary reports. Had the public reports been wonderful, one could’ve expected the two endings to work in favour of the film because in that case, a section of the audience may have probably volunteered to repeat the film a second time — by watching B if they had watched A the first time or vice versa. But since the reports are not extraordinary and also because the film does not have great repeat value, the two endings may not serve to lure the viewers to the cinemas for a second time.
On the first day (today), the sale of tickets for the A version is far more brisk than the sale of tickets for the B version. Of course, the public is clueless about what version A and version B imply, but it is human nature to opt for A when given a choice between A and B, just like more people would choose option 1 over option 2. Like 1 appears to be better than 2, A also appears to be better than B. That’s the only logic why box-office collections of the first version today are far more impressive than those of the second version. In other words, there is no logic why people are going more for A version than for B version, especially considering that they know nothing about what’s in store for them in the two versions.
Considering that Sajid Nadiadwala has already given preference to version A by releasing it in 70% of the screens, it may not be a surprise if he ultimately ‘discards’ B version, more so because the revenues from B version will not compare favourably with those of A version. That is to say, the contribution of A version to the total for day 1 would not be just 70% (it would be more) and the contribution of B version to the total collections would not even be 30% (it would be lesser). Point to note is that the contributions of the two versions to the total earnings will have nothing to do with the audience’s liking for the two versions. In that sense, the idea of having two versions would ultimately go down in history as a gimmick more than anything else. Of course, Nadiadwala tried to play with the climax to give the film a fresh twist. But it doesn’t seem at all that this could be a trend-setter.