Bhool Chuk Maaf Box Office Numbers Rigged? Maddock Films Accused Of 'Self-Booking' After Film's Collection Soars Despite Discounts, Poor Reviews

Headlined by Rajkummar Rao and Wamiqa Gabbi, Bhool Chuk Maaf hit the big screens on May 23 after much contention. Originally scheduled to release on May 9, the producer, Maddock Films, cancelled the theatrical release of the movie and announced its direct-to-OTT premiere instead. This led to PVR filing a lawsuit against the producers for breaching the contract. The parties ultimately came to a settlement, and the film was released on the big screen on the unusual condition that it would premiere on the streaming platform, Prime Video, from June 6.

Despite the controversy, the Bhool Chuk Maaf release was met with a good response at the box office. This came as a surprise, as most social media users shared negative feedback about the film. Coupled with the fact that the movie will land on OTT in just 2 weeks, the ₹7 crore total on day 1 seemed unusually high. However, on the release day, makers announced heavy discounts on the tickets for Bhool Chuk Maaf, which could be one of the reasons for the film's healthy opening. But, the streak continued on day 2 as well with the Rajkummar Rao starrer minting ₹9.5 crore.

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Trade analyst and industry insider Sumit Kadel took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to allege that the makers of the film, Maddock, have engaged in a scam to project a higher box office number. In a post made on the day of the film's release, he argued that the film minted only ₹2.3-5 crore in organic collection and all other figures are inflated to show a project a higher interest in the movie.

Kadel wrote in his post, “At this point, tracking and reporting such NUMBERS feels like a JOKE ,just like I did with the other two films this year, I’ll be skipping this one too.” For the unversed, this is not the first time Maddock Films have been accused of ‘corporate bookings' and inflating box office collections. It was alleged that the production did the same with Chhaava and Sky Force earlier.

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The box office collection of Bhool Chuk Maaf seems even more alarming when the theatre occupancy is factored in. As per Sacnilk, cinema halls across the country were running at an average occupancy of less than 30%, which makes the box office numbers appear rigged.

On May 24, Sumit Kadel took to his X account to write, “INSANE levels of SELF BOOKINGS. The industry is in absolute SHOCK - never before has such blatant malpractice been witnessed for a small film. This isn’t just unusual… it’s UNPRECEDENTED!!”

The matter blew up further when the Chief Business Planning & Strategy of PVR INOX, Kamal Gianchandani, took to his X account to heap praises on Bhool Chuk Maaf and call it a ‘genuine hit'. This irked the trade analyst further as PVR was the exhibitor that locked heads with Maddock Films before the release of the film.

Reacting to this, Kadel wrote, “Just think about it - the CEO of a multiplex chain had to come forward and tweet that this film is a hit, and that things like discount tickets don’t make a difference. ( Just 2 weeks ago, both parties were fighting a legal battle in court).”

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He further alleged that the credibility of the box office numbers shared by makers and trade trackers is questionable. He also raised questions on the rise of corporate booking practices, which are maligning the actual collection. Maddock Films has not yet responded to the allegations made by the trade analyst.