Bollywood film ‘Bell Bottom’, which is the first Hindi-language film to release in theatres following the reopening of cinema halls, has collected over Rs12.75 crore during its first week, according to reports.
Experts feel that the number might not seem significant enough and feel that the film’s collections don’t hint at better days for the film industry, which had been severely affected during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns imposed by various state governments following the second wave of Covid-19.
“Yes, the numbers don’t look great especially looking at the fact that it was an Akshay Kumar starrer. But then, I think the numbers will not improve much until, at least Maharashtra opens theatres in the state,” says trade analyst Atul Mohan.
The film, which released on Thursday, August 19, had made only Rs 2.75 crore on it is opening day, which was less than the collections of ‘Roohi’ and ‘Mumbai Saga’, which had released when the theatres had reopened after the first countrywide lockdown was lifted, last year.
However, the other three days, the collections improved and the total collections for the first weekend are now approximately Rs12.75 crore. However, this might not be enough to encourage other producersas experts feel they’d rather wait.
“I don’t think anyone would want to jump to announce theatrical releases just yet. ‘Bell Bottom’ has clearly shown that people are not very excited about going to theatres,” says Mohan.
Rumi Jaffry’s ‘Chehre’, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi is scheduled to release on Friday this week. In an interview with us earlier, film’s producer, Anand Bhushan had hinted at not being bothered about box-officer numbers and said that the film was releasing in theatres to support those whose livelihoods depended on the film industry.
“This film is dedicated to all the people who have helped us come this far, who contributed their energy to complete this film and to all the daily wage workers, the exhibitors and cinema owners, the spot boys and pre and post production professionals who have faced so many challenges during these difficult times,” he had told us.
