'Sooryavanshi' sees pre-COVID screen count, 'Annaathhe' may top 100 crore

Latest Bollywood venture Sooryavanshi, starring Akshay Kumar, will have a wide release both in India and abroad on November 5 after reopening of theatres in major markets and states on easing restriction on seating capacity.

The film will hit 3,500 screens across India and 1,200 screens overseas. With a total of 4,700 screens, taking the screen count to the pre-COVID levels.

Compare this with pre-COVID Bollywood ventures Stalman Khan-starrer Bharat, Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff-starrer War and Akshay Kumar's Housefull 4 with respective screen counts of 4,650; 3,850; and 3,900.

Akshay's recent offering Bell Bottom that had hit theatres on August 19 had released across 1,500-1,800 screens, half the number of screens of what such a large film would have seen in pre-COVID times. The limited release was due to the staggered reopening of theatres in the country.

Bollywood ventures that released last year like Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari and Kiara Advani's Indoo Ki Jawani had released in around 1,000 screens.

Riding on Sooryavanshi, the film industry sees some recovery in terms of screen count which is also making the sector bet big on the venture's box office collections.

According to analyst Karan Taurani, Senior Vice-President, Elara Capital, Sooryavanshi is estimated to collect Rs 60-70 crore in the first weekend.

"Net lifetime box office collection will likely be in Rs 120-140-crore range. These collection numbers are still around 30 percent lower versus pre-COVID levels due to timing restriction and occupancy cap in some states and some section of the audience taking more time to return to the cinemas," Taurani said.

Annaatthe is estimated to breach Rs 100-crore mark in terms of collections. This year, another Tamil venture Master which had released in January had scored a century with gross box office revenue of Rs 190 crore.

The buzz for the upcoming Diwali releases is strong, which is resulting in good response for the advance bookings of Hollywood venture Eternals, Sooryavanshi and Annaatthe.