All eyes were on the unfolding drama of ‘Mission Mangal versus Batla House’ this Independence Day. To take advantage of the 15th August holiday, the producers of both the films had announced their release on Thursday instead of the customary Friday. Even before D-day can arrive, the advance booking figures have become the talking point in trade circles.
Around 24 hours after advance booking for both the films opened yesterday, the figures are more telling than anything else could be before the two films finally open in direct opposition of each other. In the three national multiplex chains of PVR, Inox and Cinepolis, the combined total number of tickets sold for Mission Mangal is a phenomenal 44,500. As against this, Batla House has sold 6,500 tickets. In other words, the Akshay Kumar production venture has sold approximately seven times the number of tickets sold for the T-Series film. Point to note is that Mission Mangal is a woman-centric film because the story is about the satellite being sent to Mars by a group of women-scientists working at ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). Since the advent of films, the case in India has been pretty clear: male-dominated films have invariably opened to far better houses than lady-oriented films. Ultimately, of course, even a woman-centric film can do wonders at the box-office if it has merits, but such a film has always had to contend with a dull opening. However, Mission Mangal does not seem to be affected by this theory. No doubt, Akshay Kumar’s presence in the star cast has contributed in no small measure to the phenomenal start the film will take on 15th and has hence changed the scenario for Mission Mangal as far as the opening is concerned. As a keen trade observer remarked, “The disparity between the advance booking of MM and BH is more pronounced than the BJP victory over Congress in the recent general elections.”
Given the outstanding advance booking for Mission Mangal, it would not at all be surprising if the film took an initial of Rs. 30-crore-plus on Thursday. Yes, Mission Mangal could be the film with the biggest opening ever for Akshay Kumar. His best openers so far have been Kesari (Rs. 21 crore) and Gold (Rs. 25 crore) but they did not cross the 25-crore mark. How much MM and Batla House end up netting at the box-office will, of course, depend upon the merits of the two films but there’s something called a headstart which MM seems destined to get. And in times when initial business matters a great deal, the Akshay Kumar film seems to have won half the battle even before it comes before the public.