Shubh Mangal and Bhoot Looking for Holiday Benefit

Shubh Mangal and Bhoot Looking for Holiday Benefit

Thursday 20 February 2020 12.30 ISTBox Office India Trade Network

This week will see a clash between Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and Bhoot which will be looking for that Mahashivratri boost which should come as it is a holiday in many states. The former holds the edge as it offers comedy and is in that family entertainment zone. The film is about gay relationships but its done in a way that the characters are being laughed at so its not a serious take on gay relationships which would have meant disaster.

The last two Ayushmann Khurana films have opened to around the 9 crore nett mark and this should go above that and become his first double digit opener due to Mahashivratri. The fair value number may not be as much as Dream Girl or Bala but that remains to be seen where the Friday numbers lands.

The film is a franchise film of Shubh Mangal Saavdhan and that film did pretty well at the box office but it was not appreciated in a way be it on in release or post release that it deserved a franchise. The opening day numbers will be coming due to Mahashivratri and not because the first film holds value with the audience. The fair value number could be lower than Dream Girl and Bala which would show the actual value of the franchise is less than the other recent releases of Ayushmann Khurana.

Bhoot should also get the holiday benefit but this film will have an even more limited audience than Shubh Mangal Zyaada Saavdhan as it seems just for metros. Horror films normally work in India with good music as that gives them reach. This film is for that Conjuring audience which did big numbers but whether that Hollywood audience comes out for a Hindi horror film in a similar zone is another matter.

The holiday could push the opening day number but on fair value it will probably be a low number and the horror genre has to open well to really work as its not a genre that has long legs.