The biggest theatrical event of the three-day window arrived on April 17, when Priyadarshan’s horror-comedy Bhooth Bangla opened across India, with paid previews beginning the evening of April 16. The film collected an estimated ₹3.5 crore from its paid preview shows on April 16, setting a positive tone ahead of its full-fledged release. By the morning of April 17, it was running across 5,862 shows with early Day 1 estimates pointing toward a total India gross of around ₹7-8 crore before the day’s end.
The film’s road to release was not without turbulence. Bhooth Bangla was originally scheduled for April 2, then shifted to May 15, then moved back to April 10, before finally landing on April 17 after producers made a collective decision to give Dhurandhar 2 a longer theatrical runway. Paid previews, initially planned for April 9, were pushed to April 16 at 9 PM as part of the revised rollout strategy.
What the film has on its side is a genuinely strong critical reception, particularly from mainstream trade voices. Some reviews awarded it 3.5 out of 5 stars, calling it a fair entertainer that works best for its humour, performances and old-school Priyadarshan-style chaos. The first half has been praised as highly enjoyable and packed with laughs, while the second half is said to have lost steam due to an underwhelming backstory and an overlong climax.
Like Priyadarshan’s earlier hits including Hera Pheri, Hungama and Hulchul, his physical comedy and character-driven misunderstandings land correctly throughout. The Akshay Kumar-Priyadarshan combination does not disappoint, with chills and chuckles delivered in equal measure.
The film stars Akshay Kumar alongside Tabu, Wamiqa Gabbi, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Asrani, Mithila Palkar and Jisshu Sengupta. It is directed by Priyadarshan, produced by Akshay Kumar, Shobha Kapoor and Ektaa R Kapoor under Balaji Motion Pictures and Cape of Good Films, and received a UA 16+ certificate from the CBFC with a runtime of 164 minutes. Google Translate The story follows a man who inherits a palatial ancestral home and plans his sister’s wedding there, only for dark supernatural secrets rooted in the legend of Vadhusur to unravel.
The opening comes at a strategically favorable moment. With Dhurandhar 2 entering its fourth week and no other major Hindi film in the frame, Bhooth Bangla has been granted a clean two-week window by exhibitors — an advantage the trade expects it to capitalize on, particularly if weekend word-of-mouth holds. The film’s advance booking of ₹5.25 crore including block seats, while modest compared to Dhurandhar 2’s stratospheric pre-sales, is solid territory for a comedy-horror that has positioned itself as a family entertainer rather than an event film.