The box office rivalry between Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 has stirred up plenty of controversy, with mudslinging both before and after their release. For instance, T-Series, the producers of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, refused to allow Singham Again to use the iconic Singham theme music, citing copyright ownership. This forced the makers of Singham Again to change their theme music. The two films have also clashed over screen shares. Now, following their releases on November 1, both sides are competing over which film has the higher box office collections. Did Hansal Mehta Take an Indirect Dig at ‘Singham Again’ and ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ Box Office? Filmmaker Drops Cryptic Post on X About ‘Faux Office’ and ‘Paid Relations’.
At the time of writing, Singham Again, directed by Rohit Shetty and starring an ensemble cast led by Ajay Devgn, is in the lead, having collected INR 125 crore in four days in India, while Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, directed by Anees Bazmee and starring Kartik Aaryan, has earned INR 110.20 crore over the same period. However, there is some controversy surrounding these figures.
Some trade experts suggest that collections are being inflated through corporate bookings, though many have refrained from naming the parties allegedly involved. Meanwhile, fanbases of the respective stars of the Diwali releases are accusing each other of using these tactics to boost booking numbers, which in turn artificially inflates revenue.
See a Few Examples of Such Accusations Being Thrown Around
‘New Lows Everyday’
Bulk Corporate bookings of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3
Firms and companies based out of UP
are getting free Tickets
Hinduja group of companies Distributing free tickets to employees
Makers are touching new lows everyday pic.twitter.com/6EBodlZfLY
— sahil. (@shutupsahill) October 30, 2024
‘Real Weekend Figures’
Basically, just remove 20-22cr nett of corporate booking and self buying and you have your real weekend figures.
— $@M (@SAMTHEBESTEST_) November 4, 2024
‘Manipulation’
6cr manipulation, 15 cr corporate booking.
Real collection – less than sooryavanshi 27cr opening. pic.twitter.com/6KjoT7SZrg
— Ankit 👓 (@iAnkiit__) November 2, 2024
‘Self Buying’
Mass corporate booking / Self buying going on for #SinghamAgain
Mostly morning 9:45 shows are full and in the same pattern. Whereas rest shows are empty! @ajaydevgn has become so desperate to beat young actor Kartik Aryan .. 😭 pic.twitter.com/bwYt4WXB0A
— Sachin 🏌️♂️ (@sachin__rtt) October 29, 2024
‘Full Corporate Booking’
Within 2 hour of advance booking start in this cinema#SinghamAgain all 3 shows were booked in similar pattern in same cinema
Full Corporate booking started? 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/6v94kHRjpF
— Anuj🌶️ (@Anuj07882820) October 30, 2024
‘New Norm in Bollywood’
BOX OFFICE MANIPULATION IS A NEW NORM IN BOLLYWOOD.
Corporate bookings are now a part of the promotional strategy. The collections claimed by producers are NOT RELIABLE anymore becoz they’re shamelessly employing CORRUPT tactics to inflate numbers & manipulate public percption!
— Rahul Raut (@Rahulrautwrites) November 3, 2024
‘Sharp Drop in Collections’
#BhoolBhulaiyaa3 : Despite Lot of Corporate Bookings & Free Tickets Movie is Seeing a SHARP DROP in Collection On Working Day Monday🙂👀 pic.twitter.com/icrOJYwR9e
— Saloon Kada Shanmugam (@saloon_kada) November 4, 2024
While it remains unclear how much corporate booking has influenced the collections of Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, these aren’t the only Bollywood films accused of using this manipulative tactic. Recent blockbusters like Brahmastra, Pathaan, Gadar 2, Animal, Jawan, Salaar, Dunki, Tiger 3, Fighter, and Stree 2 have also faced accusations of inflating their box office figures through corporate bookings. Dunki vs Salaar: From Accusations of ‘Corporate Bookings’ to ‘Inflated’ Collections, The Box Office War Between Shah Rukh Khan and Prabhas’ Films on Social Media is Getting Worse!
Before delving further into how corporate bookings can distort a movie’s box office performance, it’s helpful to understand how box office performance is usually determined.
How is the Box Office Performance of a Movie Determined?
A movie’s box office performance is generally measured by the revenue it earns from ticket sales in cinemas, excluding receipts from satellite, music, or OTT sales (unless it’s a direct-to-platform release). The gross collection of a film is the total revenue from ticket sales before any deductions. The net collection refers to the share that goes to the distributor after cinemas take their cut from the ticket sales. In India, net collections are commonly used to evaluate a movie’s domestic theatrical success, while gross collections are used to assess worldwide performance, including both domestic and overseas earnings.
What are Corporate Bookings?
Today, movies rely heavily on generating pre-release or opening weekend buzz to draw crowds and boost revenue. For studios, it’s often about claiming titles like “biggest opener” or “highest opening weekend,” especially when their film is up against another blockbuster. To create the perception of high demand, studios may attempt to boost ticket sales by showing that their movie is attracting large audiences.
Producers may sometimes purchase large blocks of tickets themselves to make the film appear more popular, a practice known as ‘self-buying.’ Additionally, some studios form partnerships with corporate companies in exchange for product placements or advertising tie-ins. In return, these corporations may block large numbers of seats for employee outings or incentives, inflating the film’s opening figures. These bulk purchases contribute to the total box office revenue, potentially making the film seem more successful than it actually is.
In other cases, studios may have agreements with theatre chains, which may report large bookings without translating to high occupancy (actual audiences filling the seats). Corporate bookings are not restricted to Bollywood or Indian cinema; even movie industries of other countries indulge in this.
In such scenarios, analysing a film’s true box office performance by theatre occupancy rates can offer a more accurate picture, though this can be challenging for trade analysts to track, particularly in this PR-driven era.
This method of manipulation is becoming harder to identify, with some trade analysts suggesting that tampering now occurs at the billing level itself.
Box office reporting inflation by producers was never a serious issue because if you wanted to know actuals they were available with trade nos. from BOI & others.
However, now the box office nos. are manipulated in billing itself which means even trade nos. aren’t reliable. This… https://t.co/lnzx7XBTMU
— Jatinder (charlie) (@meJat32) November 3, 2024
The impact of corporate bookings on box office performance is typically short-lived. If a movie experiences a steep drop in revenue after the opening weekend, it may be a sign that artificial tactics were used to inflate initial numbers. While such strategies might allow filmmakers to save face temporarily, they often lead to financial losses in the long run, which eventually come to light.
(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on Nov 05, 2024 05:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).