Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 box office collections day 1: Kartik Aaryan gets his biggest opener with the horror-comedy

On day one, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 did extremely well at the box office, grossing roughly Rs 13.5–14 crore nett across multiplexes throughout India. Except for West Bengal, business in the South and Eastern markets is better than projected. The collections were excellent throughout the Hindi belt, whether in Rajasthan, Central India, or Gujarat/Saurashtra.

As per Box Office India, if only original Hindi content is considered, the opening is second to Sooryavanshi and fourth if all Hindi content is considered, which includes KGF 2 and RRR. It has easily outperformed Gangubali Kathiawadi, which was a box office hit and a larger film than Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. It's the highest non-holiday opening for original Hindi material since the epidemic began.

It's also Kartik Aaryan's best opening weekend, beating Love Aaj Kal's Rs 11.50 crore nett, although a fair estimate of the film would be closer to Rs 7.5-8 crore nett given its Valentine's Day release. Pati Patni Aur Woh debuted at Rs 8.3 crore nett, so this Rs 13 crore nett is a significant increase, elevating the star status.

As per the production figures, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is Bollywood's second greatest day-one launch, grossing a whopping Rs 14.11 crore.

Most significantly, this was desperately needed for the industry because it demonstrates that audiences will flock to a film if it is entertaining and has broad appeal. Films have died out in recent months, with audiences refusing to give them a chance as they become more choosy about which films to see at the theatre. The film has given the industry a huge boost as the audience came for the youthful pairing of Kartik Aryan and Kiara Advani with a huge HIT song, and the film also had better marketing by T Series compared to most releases post-pandemic, but it's possible that an HIT song allowed this to happen or appeared to happen.

The film should see a significant boost today at multiplexes, while single screens, which were lower on day one, will also come on board on Sunday, making for an excellent weekend. Dhaakad, the other release, got a bad opening, grossing only Rs 50 lakhs.