The romcom Bhool Chuk Maaf has surprised the trade and industry as it collected Rs. 17.01 crores at the domestic box office in its first two days. This is much more than the industry expectations, more so as the film is all set to release on an OTT in two weeks. However, in Overseas, the film has struggled due to multiple reasons.
Bhool Chuk Maaf suffers in Overseas markets due to last-minute changes, shorter theatrical-OTT window and competition from Mission: Impossible, Lilo & Stitch
A trade source told Bollywood Hungama, “Bhool Chuk Maaf was all set to release worldwide on May 9. But on May 8, its makers decided to cancel theatrical release and instead, bring the film on Amazon Prime Video on May 16 due to the India-Pakistan conflict. After PVR took the matter to court, both parties reached an out-of-court settlement. As per the new plan, while the film will be released in cinemas on May 23, it’ll arrive on Amazon on June 6.”
The source continued, “This last-minute change and the shorter theatrical window did not go well with several Overseas cinemas. Some of them refused to screen the film while some renegotiated the terms.”
An avid moviegoer, Manan Shah, based in London, told us, “I was keen to watch Bhool Chuk Maaf but was shocked to see it was neither playing in Cineworld nor in Vue multiplexes near my property. Upon enquiry, I was told that it hasn’t got a release in any of their cinemas. It was quite disappointing as both these chains form a huge chunk of theatres in the city.”
The trade source continued, “And that’s not all. The date of May 23 also went against Bhool Chuk Maaf. Two major Hollywood biggies – Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and Lilo & Stitch – have been released in most Western markets. The demand for them is tremendous and they have taken away most of the shows. Also, their release date was planned in advance and hence, cinemas decided to prioritize them over Bhool Chuk Maaf, which got pushed at the last minute.”
However, the Middle East has proved to be an exception. The source said, “That’s the only region outside India where Bhool Chuk Maaf has excelled and has also given great numbers. Had it got proper showcasing in other parts of the world, it could have done much better.”
When asked how many screens the film released Overseas, the source said, “On May 9, Bhool Chuk Maaf was all set to release in around 850-900 cinemas. Now, the number has come down to around 290-300. This means that it lost almost 66% screens.”
More Pages: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (English) Box Office Collection , Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (English) Movie Review
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