Box office prediction: Will Sam Bahadur beat URI and Raazi to emerge as Vicky Kaushal’s highest grosser? Trade experts opine

Vicky Kaushal starrer Sam Bahadur is a few days away from its release. The movie is all set to hit the screens on 1st December. On the same day, Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal is releasing. The advance bookings of both the films have opened and it is recording great numbers. While Animal is action-packed and has a mass appeal, Sam Bahadur is rich in content and caters to the urban audience. In recent times, we have seen 2 movies releasing on the same day and doing wonders at the box office for eg, Gadar 2 and Oh My God 2. Ahead of Sam Bahadur and Animal release, Bollywood Bubble spoke to the trade experts and here’s what they have to say about first day box office collection.

On Animal and Sam Bahadur releasing on the same day

Talking about the box office clash, Producer and Film business expert Girish Johar explained, “See, it’s definitely a big clash and we can see the way Animal has been promoted and appreciated. Having said that, we can’t just ignore Sam Bahadur because it’s from a very credible maker. Also, it has a great talent attached to it and has a piece of story. I wish that both of the films do well at the box office and there have been a few instances that prove two films can do well.”

While trade expert Akshaye Rathi stated, “Purely going by the intrinsic value of the two films, one is a hardcore commercial mass entertainer and the other is a slightly niche multiplexing evolved urban film. So in terms of the opening numbers and lifetime, I have no doubts that Animal is going to be bigger and better. But having said that, I really think both the films can, in their own space and markets can do really well together. Like we had Gadar 2, which became the highest-grossing film of its time, while Oh My God 2 grew with a word of the mouth and held its ground. I see the same happening for these two films, where Animal may open with a bang and do a much larger lifetime figure in opening weekend. But Sam Bahadur, with its merits will be able to hold its ground and grow.”

Sam Bahadur and Animal Opening Day box office Prediction

Animal has already sold a total of 2,09,986 tickets and earned Rs 6.42 crore till now. While Sam Bahadur has secured 12,876 advance bookings, amassing a collection of Rs 44.71 lakh prior to its release. When asked about first day collection, Akshaye Rathi exulted, “For Animal, I think it should be Rs 30 crores day one for domestic India, all languages included. And for Sam Bahadur, It can be 3 to 4 crores. If the word of mouth is good in the evening shows, it will grow even higher.”

While Girish Johar said, “Animal is going to have a fantastic start. I’m expecting anywhere above 35 to 40 crores on day one despite being a non-holiday, long, and A rated film. For Sam Bahadur, it’s for the metropolitan audience. It will largely depend on word of mouth. Having said that, I truly feel that the film could open anywhere around 5 to 7 crores.”

Will Sam Bahadur emerge as Vicky’s third highest grosser?

Army officer’s role has worked well for Vicky Kaushal with URI: The Surgical Strike earning Rs 245.36 crore, while Raazi minted Rs 123.84 cr. Talking about whether Sam Bahadur will do wonders for Vicky Kaushal, Girish Johar opined, “The trailer has been appreciated and at the end of the day, it is the film you’re trying to do and play the character sincerely and Vicky has done that in the past very heavily. And with Sam Bahadur, again, he has shown his potential. If the film is right and people do like his performances, I think he has another winner in his hands.“

While Akshaye Rathi believes, “It entirely depends on the merit of the film. Meghna Gulzar is a damn good director and Ronnie Screwvala is a brilliant producer. And these people were involved with Raazi and Uri respectively. So I have no doubts about the fact that they’ve made a good film. And if that is the case, it’ll grow from strength to strength and become a solid gross at the end of its run.”

Also Read: Sam Bahadur: How Vicky Kaushal starrer can emerge as a box office winner despite releasing with Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal