Horror comedy Stree 2 projected to be Bollywood’s biggest opener of 2024; cinema owners hope week’s three releases will end cold streak at BO
A still from Khel Khel Mein, Vedaa and Khel Khel Mein
Is this the week that will bring cheer to Bollywood? That’s what the trade circle believes, going by the look of things. Stree 2 is poised for the biggest opening of 2024 in Hindi cinema, with early estimates projecting a first-day collection of about R40 crore. With the figure, it would surpass, by a significant margin, the first-day collections of Fighter and Kalki 2898 AD’s Hindi version that had each opened in the range of Rs 25 crore.
As the advance bookings opened on Sunday, Rajkummar Rao and Shraddha Kapoor’s horror comedy collected Rs 4.52 crore from the 2D version alone. About 2 lakh tickets are expected to be sold before its August 15 release. Trade expert Girish Wankhede says, “I am expecting an opening day figure of Rs 40-45 crore. It has also smartly lined up paid previews with two shows in select theatres on Wednesday. Its opening weekend earnings could be in the range of
Rs 120 crore.”
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The other releases, Akshay Kumar’s Khel Khel Mein and John Abraham-Sharvari’s Vedaa, are projected to open between Rs 5 crore and R9 crore. Vishek Chauhan, who owns a cinema chain in Bihar, says Stree 2 benefits immensely from the 2018 original’s success. He hopes that the box-office lull will end with the triple treat. “It’s a good week at the movies. Stree 2 would have opened above Rs 50 crore if it wasn’t for Vedaa and Khel Khel Mein.”
Manoj Desai, executive director of G7 Cinemas that owns Gaiety Galaxy and Maratha Mandir in Mumbai, says that seeing the theatres’ empty seats was “heartbreaking”. “All three films are welcome. We just hope that people return to theatres. That said, as a single-screen and multiplex owner, this [three-way] clash has been difficult to navigate.”
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