Bell Bottom Day 3 Box Office Collection

Despite receiving rave reviews from critics, Akshay Kumar's latest espionage thriller Bell Bottom is not raking in big moolah at the box office; blame it on the COVID-19 scenario and a no-show in states in Maharashtra owing to cinema halls being shut down due to pandemic. Reportedly, the film released in 1035 cinema halls across the country.

According to estimates, the Akshay Kumar-starrer failed to cross the 3 crore mark on its opening day (Thursday). On its second day of release, Bell Bottom collected around Rs 2.3-2.5 crore. If reports are to be believed, the spy thriller has raked in Rs 3 crore on its third day of release (estimated figures)

As per a report in Etimes, the film has collected a total of Rs 8.50 crore nett with Delhi / UP leading the way with 2.15 crore nett approximately.

Meanwhile, Akshay in his recent interview with ETimes opened up on releasing Bell Bottom in theatres despite losing out a big chunk of business with no release in Maharashtra.

The superstar said, "I think this decision, and rightly so, belongs to the person whose money is riding on it. So, even in the case of Bell Bottom, it was Vashuji's decision to go ahead with the theatrical release of the film and we all respected that. Of course, it would've been a more favourable scenario had theatres in Maharashtra opened up, because anyway, as per the norms, it would've been 50% occupancy, so you're already losing out a huge chunk. And now, with Maharashtra territory not opening up, which accounts for nearly 30% of the business, it is going to be a tough battle. But Vashuji is a brave man, he'd made up his mind that come rain or sunshine, this time, we wouldn't budge from the planned release date."

On being asked the audience has got over their pandemic fear to watch a film in theatres, the actor had said, "Living with COVID is the norm now. The recent India vs England match is a good example, if you saw how many people turned up in the stadium. After all, for how long can people stay cooped up at home, not go to work, to the mall, stadiums, theatres and restaurants? I think the audience is also hungry to watch films on the big screen, one just has to wear a mask and move on."

Helmed by Ranjit M Tewari, Bell Bottom is inspired by true events and stars Akshay Kumar, Vaani Kapoor, Lara Dutta and Huma Qureshi in key roles.