Akshay Kumar starrer 'Bell Bottom' Day 1 collection out; on par with pandemic releases

Are audiences open to visiting theatres amid the COVID-19 pandemic? Not much seems to have changed for the audiences as a big-budget film BellBottom hit the screens on Thursday, August 19. The Akshay Kumar movie collected around the same amount as the other releases during the pandemic, like Roohi and Mumbai Saga.

BellBottom day 1 box office report

BellBottom is one of the major releases that has taken place since April 2020. The movie was riding high on the buzz created due to the trailer, as well as unanimously positive reviews from critics in media screenings a day before. However, as per Box Office India, the movie collected Rs 2.50 crore to Rs 2.75 crore.

The collections were on par with 'smaller' films like Roohi and Mumbai Saga, which had earned Rs 3.06 crore and Rs 2.82 crore respectively.

A factor that could have hampered the collections could be the fact that many states have still not opened theatres to the public, one such important market lost for makers being Maharashtra. 

Since the movie was released on Thursday, there seems to still be hope for the makers as positive word of mouth could play an important role in the growth of the movie over the weekend.

BellBottom is directed by Ranjit M Tewari and showcases the story of a plane hijacking in 1984, based on real-life events, and a rescue mission led by Akshay's character, who goes by the code name BellBottom. The  movie also stars Vaani Kapoor, Lara Dutta, Huma Qureshi, among others.

Talking about the movie, Akshay had said, "The film is about this mission and how these men saved the lives of several people. These undercover agents are very normal people. They are not like James Bond, they do things in a very raw and real manner."

“Like, my character is not someone jumping from one building to another. Since, this is a real story, things are done in a logical way. But we have tried to make it a little big and commercial (by adding some fantasy). However, 80 per cent of the story is real,” he had added.

(With PTI inputs)