Bollywood’s horror-comedy space has found another big winner, and this time it comes from a reunion fans had been waiting for. Bhooth Bangla, led by Akshay Kumar and directed by Priyadarshan, has officially crossed the ₹200 crore mark worldwide within just 13 days of release. It didn’t explode overnight, but the film built momentum steadily, especially through its second week, where it managed to hold stronger than expected despite normal weekday dips.
The film opened with a solid ₹58 crore net weekend in India and quickly climbed past the ₹100 crore mark by its second Saturday. That early pace gave it a strong base, and even when collections dipped at the start of week two, it managed to recover slightly mid-week. By day 13, the domestic total stands at around ₹124.5 crore net, translating to nearly ₹147.9 crore gross in India. It’s not record-breaking territory, but it’s consistent enough to keep the film comfortably ahead of many recent releases.
Overseas, the journey has been slightly more uneven. The film picked up decent momentum after its opening day, earning about $1 million across days two and three. But as expected, international numbers have slowed down significantly in the second week. With a current overseas total hovering around $5.6 million, daily earnings have now dropped below $80K. Still, the film is inching toward the $6 million mark, which would give it a respectable final tally internationally.
What really stands out is how Bhooth Bangla is performing within its genre. The ₹200 crore milestone places it among the top-performing horror-comedies in Hindi cinema, and it has already gone past the lifetime collections of films like Stree and Thamma. It had earlier overtaken titles like Bhediya and Munjya, making it one of the stronger performers in this space in recent years.
At the moment, the film sits behind heavyweights like Stree 2, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 in the horror-comedy rankings. Breaking into that top tier will depend heavily on how well it performs in its third weekend. And that’s where things get tricky, because fresh releases like The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Raja Shivaji are set to take up screens and attention.
Still, there’s a bigger takeaway here beyond just numbers. This film marks Priyadarshan’s return to Hindi cinema after a gap of five years, and more importantly, his reunion with Akshay Kumar after nearly 14 years. That nostalgia factor, combined with a genre that audiences are clearly enjoying right now, seems to have worked in its favour. Add to that a supporting cast featuring Tabu, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Mithila Palkar, and you get a film that balances comedy, nostalgia, and horror in a fairly accessible way.
Now the big question is whether Bhooth Bangla has enough fuel left to push toward ₹300 crore. The pace has slowed, and competition is about to increase, so that climb won’t be easy. But even if it stops short of that mark, the film has already done enough to prove one thing — the horror-comedy genre in Bollywood is still very much alive, and audiences are still showing up for it.
