Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon horror comedy Bhediya hit the theaters on Friday and faced stiff competition from Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam 2. While trade pundits predicted that the success of Drishyam 2 would not have an impact on Bhediya, it seems that it did. Director Amar Kaushik’s film had an underwhelming start at the box office as it failed to open in double digits.
Film trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared on Twitter, “#Bhediya opens under first day mark, despite favorable word of mouth… Reported better occupancy during evening/night shows, giving chance to gain momentum… Biz must multiply Day 2 & 3 for a healthy weekend total… Fri ₹ 7.48 cr. #IndianBusiness.”
The three major national cinema chains – PVR, INOX and Cinepolis – accounted for Rs 3.58 crore of the first-day collection. Now, on Saturday, the film needs to double its opening day to have any chance of success. Drishyam 2 on the other hand earned close to Rs 105 crore in one week of release.
Given positive reviews the film received from critics, Bhediya has a chance to improve over the weekend. But if that doesn’t happen, Bhediya could join the likes of Laal Singh Chaddha, Shamshera, Raksha Bandhan and several other films on the list of big Bollywood flops of 2022.
#Bhediya in *national chains*… *Day 1* biz…
⭐️ #PVR: 1.75 kr
⭐️ #INOX: 1.07 cr
⭐️ #Cinepolis: 76 lacs
⭐️ Total: ₹ 3.58 Cr pic.twitter.com/pNO1qQltFn— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) November 26, 2022
Bhediya plays Varun as a werewolf Kriti Sanon he plays a doctor. The film also stars Abhishek Banerjee and Paalin Kabak in key roles. Indian ExpressShubhra Gupta found the film “entertaining”. In her review, she wrote: “People turning into werewolves is such a familiar trope that the thought of seeing another version didn’t make me jump: I’m happy to report that much of ‘Bhediya,’ in which the main character changes . to the wolf ‘icchha-dhaari’, it is really pleasant.’
