Despite mixed reviews and a limited theatrical window, debutant director Karan Sharma's romantic comedy Bhool Chuk Maaf is showing promising growth at the domestic box office.
Starring Rajkummar Rao and Wamiqa Gabbi, the film crossed the Rs 25 crore mark in just three days.
Bhool Chuk Maaf collected Rs 11.25 crore on Sunday, marking its highest single-day collection since its release on Friday. The film opened at Rs 7.20 crore and earned Rs 9.81 crore on Saturday, showing a gradual increase in earnings over the weekend.
The film's opening weekend total stands at Rs 28.71 crore.
If the film manages to hold steady on Monday, it is expected to cross Rs 30 crore by the end of the day.
With this performance, Bhool Chuk Maaf has surpassed the total box office collection of Kangana Ranaut's Emergency (Rs 20.48 crore) and the opening weekend earnings of John Abraham's The Diplomat (Rs 13.30 crore), both of which released earlier this year.
On Sunday, the film recorded the highest occupancy during evening shows at 43.96%, followed by afternoon (35.51%), night (29.05%), and morning (11.50%) shows.
Region-wise, Chennai saw the highest occupancy at 86%, followed by Jaipur (38.75%), Bengaluru (37.25%), the National Capital Region (33.25%), and Lucknow (33%).
In comparison, another Bollywood release, Kesari Veer - a historical action film directed by Prince Dhiman and starring Suniel Shetty and Sooraj Pancholi - earned just Rs 32 lakh on Sunday. Its total opening weekend collection stood at Rs 86 lakh.
Meanwhile, Hollywood films like Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning and Final Destination: Bloodlines continue to perform steadily in Indian theatres.
One of the challenges faced by Bhool Chuk Maaf is its short theatrical window. The film is set to release on Prime Video India on June 6 - just two weeks after its theatrical release.
Despite this, Kamal Gianchandani, Chief Business Planning & Strategy at PVR INOX Limited, referred to Bhool Chuk Maaf as "a genuine hit."
"Some wrote off #BhoolChukMaaf citing 'discount offers' or 'lack of appeal' The box office tells a very different story - it's a genuine HIT May has revived theatres, audiences are back in big numbers, and the big screens are booming all over the country," he posted on X.
His statement comes shortly after PVR INOX approached the Bombay High Court over the producers' decision to release the film on OTT. The multiplex chain alleged that Maddock Films, the producers of Bhool Chuk Maaf, breached their contract by opting for an early digital release due to the national security situation following Operation Sindoor.
According to PVR INOX, an agreement dated May 6 stated that the film would release in cinemas on May 9 and would not be released on any other platform for at least eight weeks. However, the producers terminated the agreement a day before the theatrical release and announced the film's OTT premiere on May 16.
