Akshay Kumar's Bhooth Bangla Defies Mixed Reviews, Crosses Rs 135 Crore Worldwide

Priyadarshan's horror-comedy Bhooth Bangla, starring Akshay Kumar, has maintained a steady run at the box office in its first week despite receiving mixed reviews, signalling a potential turnaround for the actor after a string of underperformers.

The film, which released in theatres last Friday, has crossed Rs 135.45 crore worldwide by the end of its seventh day, putting it on course to surpass Akshay Kumar's recent releases, Sky Force (Rs 150.01 crore globally) and Kesari Chapter 2 (Rs 145.01 crore globally), if the current pace holds.

The film opened with Rs 3.75 crore nett from premieres, followed by Rs 12.25 crore on its opening day.

It then collected Rs 19 crore on Saturday and Rs 23 crore on Sunday.

The weekday numbers proved particularly encouraging, with the film bringing in Rs 6.75 crore on Monday and Rs 8 crore on Tuesday, outperforming Jolly LLB 3, which had collected Rs 5.5 crore and Rs 6.5 crore on the same days.

Will Bhooth Bangla Cross the Lifetime Numbers of Jolly LLB and Housefull 5?

Wednesday saw the film add Rs 6.15 crore, and on Day 7, Thursday, it collected Rs 5.15 crore.

These figures pushed its domestic total to Rs 84.05 crore nett and Rs 99.95 crore gross, according to Sacnilk.

What sets Bhooth Bangla apart from several of Akshay Kumar's recent outings is its audience retention through the weekdays.

The stronger Monday and Tuesday numbers compared to Jolly LLB 3 suggest the film has found a broader base of repeat viewers, a key indicator of box office staying power.

Within its first week, the film also crossed the lifetime collections of Varun Dhawan's Bhediya (Rs 68.99 crore) and Rajkummar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor's Roohi (Rs 28.70 crore).

The film is now eyeing the lifetime numbers of Jolly LLB (Rs 171.64 crore) and Housefull 5 (Rs 288.67 crore), though whether it can reach those figures remains to be seen.

Which Cities Drived Bhooth Bangla's Occupancy on Day 7?

On its seventh day, Bhooth Bangla recorded varied occupancy trends across major markets.

The National Capital Region logged 11.3% overall occupancy across 1,084 shows, while Mumbai fared better at 15.3% across 706 shows, peaking at 20% during night screenings.

Bengaluru emerged as one of the strongest markets, recording 18% overall with a high of 22% at night. Lucknow and Jaipur also showed steady turnout at 15.3% and 15% overall occupancy respectively.

The film's hold is notable given that it has been facing competition from Dhurandhar 2, which released on March 19. Despite that, Bhooth Bangla has not shown signs of a significant drop, and its second weekend is now being watched closely by trade observers.

Bhooth Bangla is directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Akshay Kumar, Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor under Balaji Motion Pictures and Cape of Good Films.

The film stars Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Jisshu Sengupta, Rajpal Yadav, Tabu and Wamiqa Gabbi. It also features Asrani in a role that has been released posthumously.

This marks the second collaboration between Akshay Kumar and Priyadarshan in the horror-comedy genre, following the 2007 blockbuster Bhool Bhulaiyaa.