Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 vs Singham Again: The clash is heating up, but one, which trade sources across the board are saying, that should've cooled down much earlier. The two big Diwali releases of this year, Kartik Aaryan led horror comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and Ajay Devgn fronted action-drama Singham Again are ready to battle it out at the box office this Friday with a combined potential of day one being around Rs 100 crore all-India nett. Box office clashes aren't new, but this Diwali, the faceoff between Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 wasn't on cards, at least till earlier this year. When it became apparent that Rohit Shetty-helmed Singham Again won't be completing on time, the makers pushed the film from the original release date of August 15. Back then, even Allu Arjun's Pushpa 2 was locked for the same window, but even that film moved to a December release. For Singham Again, the next best option was the Diwali release week on November 1. The only catch? Anees Bazmee-Bhushan Kumar had already announced their film on the day. It's at this point, as industry sources tell SCREEN, that things started to tumble, and muscles began to flex. 'Who is the mightiest of them all?' The year has been bad in terms of release planning- some important dates have gone vacant (like Gandhi Jayant, recently) and there have been long gaps between the release of films. What makes the Diwali clash also a puzzle is because the holiday is coming on a regular weekend, with both the films releasing on Friday. There is no "extended" weekend run up for grabs this time. "And yet none of them have averted the clash because sensible decision making without egos was not at play. None of the film is now going to reach the true potential as it's about who is going to be bigger than the two," a source shared. Veteran trade critic Taran Adarsh lashed out at the makers for making the situation worse for the exhibitors, who have had a dull year at the box office-a few blockbusters aside-and now will have to accommodate two biggies on the same day. "It is like keeping two sweets in front of a starved exhibition sector- and they can't eat either peacefully. What it leads to is a lot of negativity as even today the screen-sharing hasn't been solved yet. Why get into this ugliness to begin with? It's better to be quiet and release one of the films a week later. But who will bell the cat first?" Taran Adarsh told SCREEN. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SCREEN (@ieentertainment) 'Potential is of Rs 100 cr in a day' According to an insider, the potential of Bollywood box office on November 1 is a total of Rs 100 cr nett. Out of which, in a hypothetical scenario, Singham can be at Rs 60 cr max, while Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 could be at Rs 40 cr if all shows go houseful. But, of course, that is unlikely to happen so the best-case scenario for the both the films in the current context has changed. Singham Again, which is headlined by Ajay Devgn and Kareena Kapoor, and which features cameos like Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, would have opened at Rs 50 cr in an ideal situation, without clash. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, also starring Vidya Balan and Madhuri Dixit, would have opened at closer to Rs 30 cr. "In the current scenario, Singham Again is looking to open around Rs 35 cr mark while Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 will be now around Rs 23-25cr on the opening day. These are good enough numbers, but the potential was there to do higher. Because had they come solo, they would have opened bigger and better even on a non-holiday," the insider added. Watch: Nyrraa Banerji clearing air on 'facts or fiction' after Bigg Boss Is (screen) sharing caring? As of Tuesday, the distributors of both Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (Anil Thadani) and Singham Again (PVRInox Pictures) are yet to zero in on the showcasing of the two films but if things fall in place, the screen division ration on an average will be 60 percent with Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 taking 40 percent. "In the single screens, there will be three shows to Singham Again and two for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. In some places, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 has got equal showcasing as Anil Thadani, who is also the distributor for Pushpa 2, has clubbed the horror comedy as a package. But mostly, it is going to be 60:40 or 58:42. This is a fair divide because Singham Again is a bigger film," the source added. According to the insider, Hindi films compete on nearly 5000 screens across the country, but during a clash, it's not the screen count which matters but the showcasing. "Screen count doesn't matter because the same screen is split. For example, both the films will play on a single screen cinema, but within that, Singham Again will have three shows and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 will have two shows. So the same screen will be counted for both, but the number of total shows will differ. In clash, the fight is only about showcasing," the insider shared. Sources say all the "tussle" is only for the first day, as from the second day, cinema hall owners can change the showcasing depending on which film is being received better. Why does Diwali matter so much for box office? Trade suggests that the 2024 Diwali holiday is "weak" as the New Year will fall on Friday-Saturday, with Bhai Dooj on Sunday. From Monday, the box office will now act as a normal working week with no padding of the holidays. Some centres in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh might have extended holidays, but they boost the business by barely five-seven percent on a weekday. Conventionally, Diwali used to be a lucrative window in the 2000s but over the years, its significance has gone down. A lot of it has got to with "sub-par content." The highest grossing Eid release is Bajrangi Bhaijaan at Rs 320 cr while the highest grossing Christmas release is Dangal at Rs 387 cr. Both these releases came in 2015 and 2016, while the highest grossing Diwali release is Salman Khan's Tiger 3 in 2023, which was an underperformer at Rs 285 cr. "So, the number is still lower by at least Rs 100 cr despite all these years and the maker going bigger than before. It is a matter of content, as a right film can do Rs 500 cr even on a non-holiday. But yes, Diwali hasn't really fired in the last 14 years," the source added. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SCREEN (@ieentertainment) 'Clash of the brands' A lot of Bhool Bhulaoyaa 3 vs Singham Again is also going to be a clash of filmmakers Anees Bazmee and Rohit Shetty, the two film's respective cast as well as the genre- horror comedy and action. While the latter was instrumental in shaping the box office last year (with Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan, Jawan, Sunny Deol's Gadar 2 and even Ranbir Kapoor's Animal), this year Stree 2 broke all records and emerged as the highest grossing Hindi film of all time. Munjya, too, sprang a surprise at Rs 100 cr, and both film were horror comedies. "It is going to a battle on that front as well, but it ultimately it's only about a good film. Sure, Rohit Shetty is a bigger brand than Aneez Bazmee, but eventually, and it has been clearer post pandemic, that only a film does all the talking. Rest all is noise," the source added
