Singham Again vs Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. This clash reminds me very much of Christmas 2015, when it was Dilwale vs Bajirao Mastani. That time, Dilwale was also directed by Rohit Shetty, and the trailer of that film had also received a mixed response from viewers. It was a major clash as well.
On paper, the cast seems HUGE. Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Tiger Shroff, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, villains Jackie Shroff and Arjun Kapoor.
The problem though is what you discover underneath all of that, for the male leads. Ajay’s track record at the box office lately has been shaky. If he has a huge hit like Shaitaan, then he also has major FLOPS like Maidaan and Auron Mein Kaha Dum Tha, the latter which collected a PATHETIC 9 crore lifetime!
Akshay and Tiger have been delivering one box office DISASTER after another, including the duo together in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.
Ranveer Singh has only had one HIT amongst his sea of DISASTERS, that Hit being Rocky Rani, which it must be added, had collections boosted by corporate bookings.
The less said about the box office track record of Arjun Kapoor, the better.
Deepika probably has the best track record recently out of everyone involved in this film, but she has been heavily trolled for her acting in the trailer.
Ideally, this film should’ve been released around 2019, when the cop universe peaked with the Blockbuster success of Simmba and some of these leads (especially Akshay, Tiger, and Ranveer) were having much better runs at the box office.
There is also some concern on Rohit Shetty as a director. His last theatrical release, Cirkus, was a box office DISASTER, with a pathetic lifetime in the 40 cr range from what I recall. His OTT show, Indian Police Force, also met with a very negative response from viewers.
I remember watching Sooryavanshi in theatres, and being shocked by that “Hum Hindustani” song sequence. It was such an outdated sequence, one that easily could’ve been in a 20-year-old film such as Sunny Deol’s Indian (2001). Sooryavanshi itself only achieved a HIT tag, although to be fair, theatrical business was just recovering from COVID-19 at the time.
Salman Khan has been roped in as Chulbul Pandey from Dabangg. If this was 2011, I would say that the idea of Singham and Chulbul together would create an absolute RIOT in the cinema halls.
However, the concern is that the Chulbul character may just be damaged goods at this point, as the last film Dabangg 3 was a FLOP at the box office. It’s certainly not a case similar to Pathaan, in which Salman’s Tiger character made a cameo after delivering a blockbuster in the form of Tiger Zinda Hai.
It’s a running joke at this point that the entire film was revealed in the trailer itself. Any surprise element further went for a toss with Salman’s cameo being revealed, too.
Everyone knows that the heroes will all team up at the end and will kill villain Arjun Kapoor.
Singham Again is basically a case of many damaged goods. It won’t be a good film, BUT there is plenty of action and Ramayana references to satisfy the masses, particularly in the core mass Hindi circuits of India. This will ultimately help the film become a decent success.
There’s not much clarity yet on which day Diwali will be celebrated and when the national holiday is. IF the national holiday does fall on Fri, Nov 1, then I assume Singham Again will open in the range of 35-40 cr nett. The highest collection in a single day is Jawan’s 70 crores nett, which it pulled on its first Sunday. The goal of both Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 will be to pull a combined, cumulative total of 70 crores nett on Friday, but again, that’s IF the national holiday/New Year’s Day line up on Friday.
It must be said that the makers of both Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 are absolute IDIOTS for clashing on Diwali. Each film individually had loads of potential at the box office, as they are both aimed at satisfying the masses. Yet, their egos have gotten in the way and it will SEVERELY restrict the box office potential of both films!
As we have seen with major clashes in the past, including Dilwale vs Bajirao Mastani, neither film achieved anything higher than a HIT verdict, and I expect the same here.
In fact, this clash also resembles:
-Jab Tak Hai Jaan vs Son of Sardaar (Diwali 2012)
-Ae Dil Hai Mushkil vs Shivaay (Diwali 2016)
All of the noise for these clashes was just noise for the clash itself. Shortly after their release, viewers in India didn’t give a DAMN about any of these 4 films, as you will rarely find anyone ever talking about any of these 4 films. All that is achieved are HIT verdicts for films that are quickly forgotten about (JTHJ, SOS, ADHM), or even worse, a FLOP film that is forgotten (Shivaay).
Ajay Devgn has been in all 3 of these clashes, so perhaps, time for him to stop clashing on Diwali with his mediocre film?
Ajay lost both clashes above, and this time too, I feel, he will lose (with all due respect to him).
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