Box Office Predictions: A Gentleman, Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, And Qaidi Band

Bollywood is about to see a major clutter at the box-office this weekend. More than half-a-dozen films are stated to release, creating a solid mess at the box-office.

The release of multiple films put up a great deal of variety for the movie-goers, but how often have we seen the clutter proving fruitful for the films releasing? The answer is never. Whenever, more than a couple of films collide, it affects the business of every release, big and small. In fact, the small releases don’t even stand a chance of proving its worth because of the minimal screen count and the chance of getting unnoticed.

This weekend, the audience will witness the same scenario with the release of A Gentleman, Babumoshai Bandookbaaz, Qaidi Band, Sniff and the Hollywood project, The Hitman’s Bodyguard. Thankfully, two other films; The Rally and Terminator 3-D, which was also supposed to be released tomorrow, got postponed till September. We still have to deal with more than half-a-dozen releases and it will create a serious inadequacy of screens for some of the new releases. Also, Toilet- Ek Prem Katha and Annabelle: Creation is expected to retain a good number of screens, considering their solid performance in Week-2 and Week-1 respectively.

The big release this Friday is the Sidharth Malhotra, Jacqueline Fernandez starrer A Gentleman. The much hyped typical Bollywood entertainer has been aggressively promoted and the trailer has been well received by the audience. The music is a huge let down for the movie as barring Bandook Meri Laila, none of the songs hit the right chord.

A Gentleman is riding high on the action quotient and the genre is well appreciated by the Indian audience. Looking at Sidharth’s last two releases; Kapoor & Sons had a start of Rs 6.85 crore on Day-1 and Baar Baar Dekho, though a debacle, opened well with Rs 6.9 crore coming in. Looking at the clutter, A Gentleman is likely to start on the note of Rs 7-8 crore. Though the final screen count of the movie is not confirmed, A Gentleman is expected to release in 1600-1700 screens. If the action drama works well with the audience, a healthy jump over the weekend will be on the cards.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Babumoshai Bandookbaaz will be the actor’s second solo release of the year after Haraamkhor. The bold and dusty trailer looks promising and we all know the potential of Nawaz to impeccably depict the role of a small town gangster (If you don’t, watch Gangs of Wasseypur-2). Nawaz’s popularity as a cult has grown and people have very well accepted and praised Nawaz in the lead roles.

The small budget of Babumoshai Bandookbaaz will be a big plus for the makers. The film has been decently promoted and music has been well crafted, keeping in mind the mood of the film. Babumoshai Bandookbaaz is expected to open on the lines of Rs 2-2.5 crore and grow over the weekend. Nawaz’s last release, Haraamkhor had put up a dismal start at the box-office with just Rs 16 lakhs on Day-1. However, Freaky Ali opened to Rs 2.55 crore and Manjhi: The Mountain Man took an opening of Rs 1.6 crore. The offbeat nature of the film will eliminate it from the single screens, but the major plexes are likely to remain strong. The film is expected to open on 600-700 screens.

The other release of the week is Qaidi Band. The Yash Raj film marks the debut of Aadar Jain and Anya Singh. The trailer looks assuring but it is a very bold move by YRF to introduce two new comers in an eccentric flick. The film has not been promoted well and there is an absolute zero buzz surrounding the film.

Qaidi Band will have a very hard time at the box-office and even excellent critical reception won’t give this YRF film a good boost. The film will open on the lines of Rs 20-30 lakh or even low. A solo release might have given Qaidi Band the required boost, but amidst the clutter, the film has no chance of delivering at the box-office.

With TEPK going strong, Annabelle: Creation performing superbly for a horror flick and Bareilly Ki Barfi doing decent, this week will see a mega add on. It will be a movie buffet for the audience and some sleepless nights for the producers of the new release.