WILL THUG LIFE AND HOUSEFULL 5 SUCCEED AT THE BOX OFFICE?

The IPL season has ended, which means that there will be a flow of big releases. This week, two major films will try their luck at the box office.

Thug Life, the Tamil film, releases today, June 5. It reunites Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam after almost 37 years. Besides Kamal, it also stars Silambarasan T R, Trisha Krishnan, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Hindi actors like Ali Fazal, Mahesh Manjrekar and Rohit Saraf. The film got noticed by many in the Hindi-speaking markets thanks to the song 'Jinguchaa', which also features Sanya Malhotra.

The film faces some challenges. Firstly, Thug Life doesn’t look like a typical mass entertainer. Hence, the excitement is present but is minimal. This is also reflected in the advance sales. It is expected to have an opening of around Rs. 18-20 crores all-India in all languages. Secondly, the film will not see a release in Karnataka after Kamal Haasan made controversial statements on Kannada language. This would hit the film’s collections by around Rs. 2 crores.

In Hindi, Thug Life is expected to open at around Rs. 1 crore as the buzz is very limited. From tomorrow, it’ll face show reductions due to Housefull 5. As a result, it’ll need a very positive word of mouth to sustain.

Speaking of Housefull 5, it stars Akshay Kumar, Abhishek A Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sonam Bajwa, Nargis Fakhri, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Nana Patekar, Chitrangada Singh, Fardeen Khan, Chunky Pandey, Johnny Lever, Shreyas Talpade, Dino Morea, Ranjeet, Soundarya Sharma, Nikitin Dheer and Akashdeep Sabir. This time, the director is Tarun Mansukhani of Dostana fame. Also, this is the first Housefull film that is not just a comedy. It is a ‘killer’ comedy as it involves a murder, that too on a cruise.

The makers began promotions with the song ‘Laal Pari’ and it became an instant chartbuster. The trailer was unveiled 10 days before release and got a decent response. During the trailer launch, the makers revealed that they have shot two versions, both with different endings and killers. Moreover, they have decided to release both the versions, named Housefull 5A and Housefull 5B!

When the trailer was released, the industry expected the film to open at Rs. 30 crore plus. But with the advance booking not being as per expectations, the revised expectation is that Housefull 5 will open at Rs. 20-25 crores. Reports are also coming in from exhibitors that there is confusion over whether audiences should watch Housefull 5A and Housefull 5B. The makers want moviegoers to watch both but that won’t be possible for most people to do as cinema today is an expensive proposition. As a result, many are adopting a wait-and-watch situation. It means that they would want to know from reviews and public response which version packs a better punch and accordingly, they’ll book tickets for that version.

This gives hope that Housefull 5’s collections will rise significantly from Friday night. Saturday, June 7, is a holiday due to Bakri Eid and that would give the film an added push. Sunday will also be huge and if the film can have a weekend of Rs. 90 crores plus, it’ll be praiseworthy.