Biggies such as Amitabh Bachchan and Yash Raj together couldn't dent the march of the Bahubali.
S.S. Rajamouli-directed Bahubali 2-The Conclusion continued to rule the box office in Patna in its third week of release despite Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Sarkar 3 and Yash Raj Film's Meri Pyaari Bindu opening on Friday.
Theatre owners believe that the Bahubali sequel is a revenue-making beast that will prove its muscle power at the box office even in the weeks to come.
It has already traded nearly Rs 5 crore in Patna, highest ever for any film in its third week. Dangal and Sultan could reach Rs 3 crore and Rs 2.5 crore respectively in its third week. The number of shows has, however, come down from 35 on the first day to 26 on Friday when the two films released. The new releases have been slotted in two theatres.
Sarkar 3 is being screened in six shows - four in Cinepolis and two in Mona - whereas Parineeti Chopra and Ayushmann Khurrana's Meri Pyaari Bindu has been slotted in four shows - two each in Cinepolis and Elphinstone.
Regent Fun Cinemas and Sushil Plaza has not given a single slot to any of the new releases, including Hollywood's Alien: Covenant. The Ridley Scott sci-fi has, however, bagged a show in Patna multiplex that too a dubbed version in Hindi.
On why and how Bahubali is stilling ruling the box office, Suman Kumar Sinha, the chairman-cum-managing director of Regent Theatre Pvt Ltd, said: "We want to eat the curd and not make it a lassi. We are getting the unprecedented response from Bahubali 2. Why should we take chances to run a new film? All five shows are houseful and this would continue for the next two weeks. We want to milk the Bahubali cow."
Bahubali 2 is the first Indian film, which has crossed the Rs 1,000-crore mark in the history of the Indian cinemas. The first part - Bahubali-The Beginning - was also a box-office behemoth when it released in 2015, collecting Rs 650 crore on the Rs 180-crore budget. The sequel's rage is such that tickets have been sold at Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,500 in Calcutta and Mumbai respectively. Even in Patna, ticket costing Rs 160 was sold at Rs 600.
The three new releases have been slotted 11 shows with seat occupancy of 40 to 50 per cent on its day of release. The fresher trio couldn't even manage Rs 5 lakh business on Day I. The president of Cine Society Patna, Jai Mangal Deo, said Bahubali has changed the rules of filmmaking and marketing. "Neither the actors took part in any promotional nor were they found on Kapil Sharma's Comedy Nights or Nach Baliye to promote the film. People may be joking about Katappa but the character caught the imagination of people. The film did not need Id or Diwali to get more footfall," said Deo.
Asked about the reason of people choosing old film instead of new release, Deo further said, "Bahubali has the indigenous feeling and for the first time any Indian movie is knocking the door of Hollywood in terms of scale of revenue return. Films like Sarkar and Meri Payari Bindu will not even stand anywhere near to Bahubali. People are sick of watching Ram Gopal Varma style film. The initial report we are getting about Sarkar is that it has doomed on box office."
There are residents who have watched Bahubali 2 more than once and yet wants to visit the epic all over again. Vivek Kumar Gupta, a resident of SP Verma Road, said: "I watched the film twice but I want to watch it again. I don't think something similar would be directed by any of our Bollywood directors in the near future," he said.
