The film ‘Bell Bettom,’ starring Akshay Kumar, has been released in theatres. The film will not be released in Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and to top it off, theatres will only be functioned with 50% occupancy rate. According to reports, ‘Bell Bottom’ sold 8,250 seats on day one for a total of 17 lakh nett and 11,500 tickets for a total of 24 lakh nett throughout the weekend for the PVR chain of cinemas across the country.
In theatres with fewer screens and occupancy, ‘Bell Bottom’ will have a smaller release. Despite its low-key release, the spy thriller has reportedly made a higher advance than ‘Roohi’ and ‘Mumbai Saga,’ at around 60-65 lakhs nett. However, due to screen count and the 50 percent occupancy rule, the film’s total collection could be far less than these films.
Currently, ‘Bell Bottom’ has over 1600 screens, with this number expected to climb by the end of the day. The film is getting three shows per day on average in single screens, but multiplexes are pushing it to five shows per day per screen.
Bell Bottom has a show-count of around 5000 on opening day in India, which may climb throughout the weekend if fans return in large numbers to the theatres. Given the fact that many single screens and multiplexes have yet to open for film screenings, this is a reasonable release size for the film.
For the opening day, the Ranjit Tewari-directed film had sold about 13,260 tickets in the three national chains – PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis – as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday. INOX and Cinepolis, on the other hand, have sold 4846 and 2519 seats in advance, respectively. The advance booking at three chains is around 20% greater than Janhvi Kapoor’s Roohi at the same period. In terms of Net Collections, the film has already received Rs 20 lakh in advance from the three national chains, implying a total advance of Rs 35 lakh across India. By the end of the day, this should be worth roughly Rs 60 lakh. These are excellent numbers in these uncertain times.
(Also read: Bell Bottom Review: Akshay Kumar offers a power-packed thriller, Lara Dutta & Adil Hussain stand out!)
According to reports, the 2D version of the film had a nationwide occupancy of roughly 19%, while the 3D version had a slightly higher occupancy of 21%. Although the film’s morning box office opening was low across India, our reports suggest that the film’s audience counts after 3 pm are looking good at the bookings, with a projected collection of roughly 4-5 cr for Day 1.
Bell Bottom is directed by Ranjit Tewari and also stars Vaani Kapoor, Lara Dutta and Huma Qureshi in key roles. The film narrates the real life story of a plane hijack set in 1984.
