Chehre fared very poorly in 1st week everywhere. The ultra-class film failed to draw the audiences to the cinemas. It managed a first week of only Rs. 3 crore.

Bell Bottom did fairly well on the second week’s Sunday. In some circuits like Gujarat, it also did fairly well on Monday/Tuesday due to Janmashtami holiday. But in most other circuits, there was no noticeable jump in collections on Janmashtami. Collections during the weekdays were again dull. It netted Rs. 8.50 crore in the second week, taking its grand total for two weeks to Rs. 28 crore.

Chal Mera Putt 2 (Punjabi) swept the box-office in East Punjab in the first week. It netted Rs. 90 lakh on the first day. Collections increased by 15% on Saturday which, therefore, closed at Rs. 1.04 crore. Collections shot up further on Sunday, taking the third day’s total to Rs. 1.40 crore. The weekend’s grand total was an extraordinary Rs. 3.34 crore. In addition, the film collected around Rs. 40 lakh from the rest of India, taking the first weekend’s all-India total to Rs. 3.74 crore. Collections of East Punjab during the weekdays were as follows: Monday – Rs. 1.02 crore, Tuesday – Rs. 0.66 crore, Wednesday – Rs. 0.61 crore, Thursday – Rs. 0.55 crore. Hence the total for the weekdays was Rs. 2.84 crore. The total for the weekdays from the rest of India was Rs. 24 lakh. In other words, the total for the weekdays from all-India was Rs. 3.08 crore. Grand all-India total for 1st week: a phenomenal Rs. 6.82 crore! The film is a blockbuster despite the restrictions on the cinema capacities and show timings!! It must be mentioned here that the film had earlier released in March 2020 but had to be discontinued after 3-4 days only, because of the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown. Even then, it had recorded exceptional collections.

Puaada did okay in the third week, especially the weekend. It collected Rs. 45 lakh during the third weekend, and another Rs. 30 lakh during the weekdays. By netting Rs. 75 lakh in the third week, the film took its 3-week grand total to Rs. 6.41 crore.

Bell Bottom may have been expected to score at the turnstiles as it was the first big-budget film starring an A-list actor to release in cinemas in almost 17 months and also the first theatrical release after the second Coronavirus wave lockdown was lifted in different states in July/August this year, but it failed to live up to expectations. The eight-day week did not really add up to much! No doubt, cinemas in most states are allowed to function at only 50% capacity, but even those 50% seats were not full in majority of the cinemas and in majority of the shows. The film opened on 19th August (Thursday) in 2D and 3D all over except in Maharashtra and a couple of other small circuits like Assam and Tamil Nadu-Kerala. Shockingly, collections of the 2D version were better than those of the 3D version at many places. On second thoughts, that shouldn’t come as a shock because the 3D effects in the film, starring Akshay Kumar, were far from good. The first day’s net collection figure was just Rs. 2.75 crore. Collections on Friday were no better as the second day also ended at Rs. 2.75 crore. Quite obviously, the Moharram holiday on Thursday/Friday did not help the film much. Collections on Saturday showed only a marginal improvement as the day closed at Rs. 3 crore. The Raksha Bandhan festivities gave a boost to collections on Sunday, because of which the fourth day closed at Rs. 4.50 crore. In cinemas where collections on the first three days were very poor (only 5-7% of the capacity), the collections on Sunday were more than the total collections of the first three days. In this way, the film netted only Rs. 13 crore in the first 4-day weekend. Collections on Monday were alright in Uttar Pradesh (due to the holiday declared in the state following the demise of erstwhile chief minister Kalyan Singh on Saturday) and a couple of other circuits (due to the advantage of post-Raksha Bandhan festive spirit). But collections in other circuits showed a drop in comparison with the collections of Thursday/Friday/Saturday. Monday closed at Rs. 2 crore only. Collections for the balance weekdays were: Tuesday – Rs. 1.75 crore, Wednesday – Rs. 1.50 crore, Thursday – Rs. 1.25 crore. The total for the four weekdays was, therefore, Rs. 6.50 crore. In this way, the film netted only Rs. 19.50 crore in the first 8-day week. Even if one assumes that the film will have a run of several weeks at the cinemas because of very limited number of new releases in the coming weeks, it is not expected to net more than Rs. 30 crore in its entire run. Probably, the film may not even touch that figure! Of course, the silver lining is that producers Vashu Bhagnani and Nikhil Advani took the bold step of releasing the film in cinemas in spite of 50% occupancy, night curfews, closure of cinemas in some states, and reluctance of many among the public to come to the cinemas for fear of getting infected by the virus, and their step needs to be lauded. However, it must be added that while the producers promoted the film extensively, they did not stress on the fact that it was coming in cinemas. With the public being used to consuming films on OTT platforms during the two lockdowns and also when the lockdown was lifted for a little over five months in between, many people did not even know that Bell Bottom was coming on the big screen. They assumed that it was to release on 19th August on one or the other streaming platform and, therefore, did not go to the cinemas. Why, there were and there still are countless people who didn’t/don’t know that cinemas in their state/city had/have reopened. The all-India distributors, PEN-Marudhar Cine Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., also erred in not issuing prominent ads in newspapers to announce that the film was hitting cinema screens. The film underperformed in the Overseas circuit too with a gross of only Rs. 8.8 crore in the first 8-day week.

Puaada (Punjabi) did very well in the second week too. It had opened in limited cinemas (which had reopened) on 12th August (Thursday) to a rousing reception, collecting Rs. 50 lakh on the (odd) opening day. The first four-day weekend had closed at Rs. 2.45 crore while the eight-day first week closed at Rs. 3.83 crore. The second week was also very good. The second weekend closed at Rs. 1.05 crore. The net collection total for the four weekdays of the second week was Rs. 0.78 crore. In this way, the second week’s total was Rs. 1.83 crore. Grand total for 2 weeks: Rs. 5.66 crore. The comedy has performed excellently Overseas too. It has grossed Rs. 8.8 crore in 15 days abroad.

Both the releases of this week — KOI JAANE NA and FLIGHT — opened to dismal houses.

Saina proved to be a damp squib in the first week itself. It started on a horrifyingly slow note with a first-day collection of Rs. 22 lakh. Collections on Saturday increased to Rs. 25 lakh but the total for Sunday went down to Rs. 20 lakh. After a first weekend total of Rs. 67 lakh, collections for the weekdays were as follows: Monday – Rs. 20 lakh, Tuesday – Rs. 11 lakh, Wednesday – Rs. 9 lakh, Thursday – Rs. 8 lakh. In this way, the total for the weekdays was Rs. 48 lakh, and for the first week, Rs. 1.15 crore only. The film has turned out to be a total loss.

Godzilla Vs. Kong (English and dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu) did extremely well in the first 9-day week. Collections in the Southern territories were especially outstanding. The film (all versions) opened on Wednesday with a total of Rs. 6.50 crore. Collections on Thursday and Friday were Rs. 5.25 crore and Rs. 4.25 crore respectively. The total for Saturday went up to Rs. 6.50 crore once again. Sunday ended at Rs. 6 crore. In this way, the first 5-day weekend closed at Rs. 28.50 crore. Collections for the weekdays were as follows: Monday – Rs. 4.50 crore (Holi holiday), Tuesday – Rs. 2.50 crore, Wednesday – Rs. 2.25 crore, Thursday – Rs. 2 crore. Therefore, the total for the weekdays was Rs. 11.25 crore. Total for 1st week: Rs. 39.75 crore.

Mumbai Saga added Rs. 3.35 crore to its kitty in the second week. It netted Rs. 0.45 crore on the first day of the second weekend. Collections for Saturday and Sunday were Rs. 0.55 crore and Rs. 0.45 crore respectively. The total for the second weekend was, therefore, Rs. 1.45 crore. Collections for the weekdays: Monday – Rs. 0.75 crore (Holi holiday), Tuesday – Rs. 0.50 crore, Wednesday – Rs. 0.35 crore, Thursday – Rs. 0.30 crore. In this way, the total for the weekdays was Rs. 1.90 crore. Total for 2nd week: Rs. 3.35 crore. Grand total for 2 weeks: Rs. 16.13 crore.

Roohi collected Rs. 20 lakh on the first day of the third weekend, Rs. 28 lakh on the second day, and Rs. 24 lakh on the third day, taking the third weekend’s total to Rs. 72 lakh. Collections for the weekdays were: Monday – Rs. 28 lakh (Holi holiday), Tuesday – Rs. 25 lakh, Wednesday – Rs. 22 lakh, Thursday – Rs. 20 lakh. Therefore, the total for the weekdays was Rs. 95 lakh. Total for 3rd week: Rs. 1.67 crore. Grand total for 3 weeks: Rs. 21.82 crore.

Today’s release, SAINA, has opened to dismal houses — and not just because of the increasing number of coronavirus cases in the country! The word of mouth for the Saina Nehwal biopic is so negative that collections failed to pick up at most of the places after a horrifyingly poor start this morning… On the other hand, this week’s other release, GODZILLA VS. KONG, opened (on Wednesday, March 24) to excellent (considering that audiences are not visiting cinemas in large numbers due to the second coronavirus outbreak) houses. Of course, the major collections came from South India where audience attendance is far higher than in the rest of the country. The film (original English and dubbed Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions) netted Rs. 6.40 crore on the first day, and Rs. 5 crore on the second day. With three more days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) to go for the first weekend to come to a close, the film will easily net upwards of Rs. 28 crore in the first five-day weekend. Phenomenal, considering that times are pretty abnormal!

Mumbai Saga did quite well in the first week in single-screen cinemas mainly. At places, collections were rather impressive, with some single-screen cinemas recording house-full collections in a couple of shows in the weekend. The action film netted Rs. 2.82 crore on the first day. Collections fell by just Rs. 42 lakh on Saturday which, therefore, ended at Rs. 2.40 crore. Sunday closed at a fairly impressive Rs. 3.52 crore. After a weekend total of Rs. 8.74 crore, collections for the weekdays were as follows: Monday – Rs. 1.49 crore, Tuesday – Rs. 1.10 crore, Wednesday – Rs. 0.75 crore, Thursday – Rs. 0.70 crore. By adding Rs. 4.04 crore to its kitty in the weekdays, the film took its grand total for the first week to Rs. 12.78 crore.

Roohi added Rs. 2.70 crore in its second weekend. It collected Rs. 0.55 crore on the first day of the second week. Collections increased to Rs. 0.90 crore on Saturday, and further to Rs. 1.25 crore on Sunday. After a total of Rs. 2.70 crore for the second weekend, the film collected as follows in the weekdays: Monday – Rs. 0.45 crore, Tuesday – Rs. 0.40 crore, Wednesday – Rs. 0.30 crore, Thursday – Rs. 0.30 crore. In this way, the film netted Rs. 1.45 crore during the weekdays, taking the total for the second week to Rs. 4.15 crore. Grand total for two weeks: Rs. 20.15 crore.

MUMBAI SAGA opened better in single-screen cinemas today than multiplexes because of the action content. The opening show’s figures were just about average but collections in several single-screen cinemas picked up during the day.

Roohi did well in the first four-day weekend as it got the advantage of being the first star-cast release post-lockdown and, more importantly, after more than half the states in India allowed cinemas to work at full capacity. The public reports, except in pockets in the hinterland, were not upto the mark and hence collections were down during the weekdays. The first day’s (Thursday) net all-India total was Rs. 2.75 crore. The film reaped the advantage of the Maha Shivratri holiday too. Collections on Friday dropped to Rs. 2 crore. Collections on Saturday and Sunday picked up again as the film netted Rs. 3.25 crore and Rs. 3.65 crore respectively. In this way, the film netted Rs. 11.65 crore in the first four-day weekend. Collections during the weekdays were: Monday – Rs. 1.30 crore, Tuesday – Rs. 1.15 crore, Wednesday – Rs. 1.05 crore, Thursday – Rs. 0.85 crore. With the total for the weekdays being Rs. 4.35 crore, the first week’s total went up to Rs. 16 crore. The figure was good, considering that the coronavirus scare actually rose during the week gone by as the number of cases went up dramatically.

Mera Fauji Calling recorded horrendous collections throughout the first week. The daily collections were in a few lakh rupees!

Time To Dance did not give any reason for the producers of the film to dance as it proved a disastrous fare with horrifyingly low collections in the firts week.

Jeene Ki Umeed Tumse Hi collected poorly in the first week everywhere, proving to be a total loss.

Master (dubbed) as also the original Tamil and dubbed Telugu versions together netted Rs. 5.91 crore in India other than South India in its first 9-day week. It collected Rs. 91 lakh on Wednesday, Rs. 94 lakh on Thursday, Rs. 88 lakh on Friday, Rs. 84 lakh on Saturday, and Rs. 95 lakh on Sunday, taking the 5-day extended weekend total to Rs. 4.52 crore. Collections on the weekdays were as follows: Monday – Rs. 48 lakh, Tuesday – Rs. 38 lakh, Wednesday – Rs. 29 lakh, Thursday – Rs. 24 lakh. Total for the weekdays – Rs. 1.39 crore. In this way, the first 9-day week closed at Rs. 5.91 crore. Of course, the original Tamil and dubbed Telugu versions have done phenomenally well down South and could well net Rs. 200 crore in two weeks. The dubbed Hindi version did not perform too well because of lack of promotion.