Unlike the cold reception that the two recent Bollywood films BellBottom and Thalaivii received at the box-office, the new Telugu film Love Story got a good opening in theatres. Directed by Sekhar Kammula and starring Nag Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi, Love Story is reported to have grossed around Rs 28.9 crore over the weekend.
Though Love Story received mixed reviews, and despite the SOPs in theatres with regard to the pandemic situation, the film has done considerably well. Here's a quick look at the day-wise net collections:
'Love Story' Box Office Collections (Net)
Day 1 - Rs 9.05 crore
Day 2 - Rs 7.75 crore
Day 3 - Rs 8.00 crore
Total: Rs 24.8 crore
Compare this to the weekend figures of Akshay Kumar-starrer BellBottom and Kangana Ranaut-starrer Thalaivii which were:
BellBottom - 12.90 cr (4 day weekend)
Thalaivii - 4.91 cr
Even considering the fact that single-screens and multiplexes in Maharashtra, which account for approximately 30% of the market share for a Hindi film, are yet to open - these numbers haven't been encouraging for producers in Bollywood. This could be the reason why even a big film like Shoojit Sircar's Sardar Udham starring Vicky Kaushal has opted to go straight to OTT next month.
The Telugu and Tamil film industry has on the other hand recouped very well from the pandemic and resultant lockdown. Remember, Vijay's Tamil film Master opened in January 2021 to a Rs 40 crore opening and collected over Rs 110 crore in its first 5-day weekend.
Vijay in Master.
More recently Pawan Kalyan's Telugu film Vakeel Saab opened to an astounding Rs 40 crore on Day 1 and collected over Rs 70 crore over the 3-day weekend in April 2021 during the second COVID-19 wave.
Clearly fans down south are keen on returning to theatres while the Bollywood audience seem to be more cautious. With the Maharashtra government allowing theatres to open from 22 October, the collections of Rohit Shetty's Diwali release Sooryavanshi starring Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif along with Ranveer Singh and Ajay Devgn (cameos) will prove to be the acid test for Bollywood.
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