Can Askhaya challenge Salman Khan? - Page 8

When the first Indian Premiere League season began in 2008, it affected the business of Hindi films. The footfalls in theatres were considerably lower in those 2 months, which meant filmmakers 2009-onwards avoided releasing their films in April and May.

This dull phase gave birth to what we now call as the Post IPL' period, when a big film is released just after the conclusion of the IPL.The record of Post IPL' releases has been phenomenal since 2009 - 5 Blockbusters, 1 Super Hits, 2 Hits and more importantly zero failures.

Kabir Khan's New York starring John Abraham, Katrina Kaif (at the peak of her career) and Neil Nitin Mukesh was a runaway hit at the box office.

2010 was a blockbuster year as Raajneeti' just fell short of becoming only the third film (after Ghajini and 3 Idiots) to collect Rs 100 crore.

In 2011, it was Salman Khan's turn to deliver his second blockbuster after the phenomenal success of Dabangg'. 2012 gave Akshay Kumar his biggest blockbuster and biggest grosser in Rowdy Rathore. It remains his biggest grosser to date.

2013 was the biggest year for Post IPL' releases as Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone returned with Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and broke every non-holiday record that existed back then. It remains the highest non-festive (without Eid, Diwali, Christmas advantage) grosser to date.

2014 was comparitively a dull year, as Holiday: A Solider Is Never Off Duty' did not open well at the box office, but with positive word-of-mouth the film went on to be Akshay's 3rd 100 crore grosser. It was also the only year when there was a year on year' dip of 40%.

In 2015, Tanu Weds Manu Returns shocked the trade as the film went on to collect more than 150 crore at the domestic box office and Rs 250 crore worldwide.

The potential of this period is huge and it would probably rank just after Diwali' as the fourth most lucrative period to release films. Housefull 3' has every factor in its favour, including the added franchise value' - which is huge and something that last year's Tanu Weds Manu Returns took advantage of. There hasn't been a big release after Baaghi' and FAN' was probably the last film that opened well at the multiplexes.

The big question is, can Housefull 3' live upto expectations? Can it give Akshay Kumar his bigger opener and biggest grosser to date? And can it continue the record of no Post IPL' release ever failing at the box office?