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Akshay Kumar is in for another difficult weekend at the box office, with his latest film, Khel Khel Mein, lagging behind in advance ticket sales as compared to fellow Independence Day releases Stree 2 and Vedaa. Starring Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao, the horror comedy sequel is expected to deliver massive numbers this weekend, and has taken a huge lead over the two other movies in advance sales. But Khel Khel Mein is also lagging behind the week’s third major release, the John Abraham-starrer Vedaa.
According to data shared by industry tracker Sacnilk, Khel Khel Mein has been given a comparatively limited release as compared to both Stree 2 and Vedaa. In fact, Stree 2 has over six times as many shows across the country, while even Vedaa has twice the footprint of Khel Khel Mein. Starring Akshay and an ensemble that also includes Taapsee Pannu, Vaani Kapoor and Fardeen Khan, the comedy film has sold less than 6000 tickets for day one so far, amounting to Rs 23 lakh in box office revenue.
The film’s biggest market appears to be Maharashtra, where it has sold Rs 9 lakh worth of tickets, followed by the Delhi NCR region, where it has sold nearly Rs 8 lakh worth of advance tickets. Vedaa, on the other hand, has sold nearly 11000 tickets worth over Rs 30 lakh for day one, with the majority of interest also coming from Maharashtra and Delhi. Unlike Khel Khel Mein, however, Vedaa is also attracting interest in Uttar Pradesh.
But Stree 2 is running away with the title, having sold over 2.2 lakh tickets worth over Rs 7 crore for day one. Once again, the majority of the interest is coming from Delhi and Maharashtra. Stree 2 is directed by Amar Kaushik, who also helmed the blockbuster first film. Released in 2018, the film made around Rs 180 crore worldwide, and contributed immensely to the re-emergence of the horror comedy genre. It also spawned a shared universe, which includes films such as Bhediya and Munjya. According to Bollywood Hungama, Stree 2 is eying a Rs 40 crore opening day — the biggest for a Hindi film this year, and bigger even than Kalki 2898 AD’s Rs 28 crore north India collections on day one.
Incidentally, the average ticket price for Khel Khel Mein is higher than those for both Stree 2 and Vedaa, although the difference is marginal. This would indicate that the film is being exhibited mainly in urban centres. Akshay Kumar has been having a difficult time at the box office in recent years, with all but one of his over half-a-dozen post-pandemic releases flopping.
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