Akshay Kumar’s Toilet: Ek Prem Katha keeps the box office flaming, by easily cruising through the Rs 100-crore mark and amassing Rs 118 crore as of August 22 (according to Box Office India). So much so, that this week’s release Bareilly Ki Barfi (BKB) was expected to suffer from the film’s continued popularity. It certainly seemed like BKB would languish with an opening day of Rs 2.25 crore. After all, even Annabelle: Creation (that released on the same day) opened to Rs 4.50 crore. “Hollywood films are becoming more integral to the box office and the audience is not making a distinction in films anymore,” says Shailesh Kapoor of Ormax Media, a firm specialising in trade insights. But in a sudden turn of events, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s film about small town India doubled its earnings on day two and continued to lasso in the moolah reaching Rs 15 crore as of August 22. Kapoor adds that the film has so far done fairly well and could collect Rs 25 crore if the positive word of mouth keeps the footfalls going. “BKB is a hinterland story but because of the absence of a star cast, it caters to a multiplex audience,” says Kapoor. “The hinterland audience is still driven by action, songs and traditional elements that work for a film.”
Deborah Cornelious