'Bhooth Bangla' box office: Akshay Kumar-Priyadarshan movie opens strong, surpasses 'Stree' and 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa'

As of April 18, 2026, "Bhooth Bangla" has comfortably outperformed the 2007 opening of their previous horror collaboration "Bhool Bhulaiyaa". We are talking in terms of absolute numerical terms, largely due to nearly two decades of inflation and expansion in the Indian film market. 

As per Sacnilk box office tracking, "Bhooth Bangla" opened with net earnings of Rs 15.75 crore (Day 1 combined with advance preview earnings of Rs 3.50 crore from Thursday) compared to Rs 3.88 crore of "Bhool Bhulaiyaa".

In terms of the total gross, "Bhooth Bangla" earned Rs 18.90 crore while "Bhool Bhulaiyaa" earned around Rs 5.40 crore.

In worldwide gross, "Bhooth Bangla" opened with Rs 23.90 crore. In comparison, "Bhool Bhulaiyya" opened with around Rs 6.20 crore.

These numbers also reflect the number of shows/screens in 2007 and 2026. The 2026 film is playing across 12,386 shows as opposed to the 500 screens of the former.

However, for a 2007 movie, the Rs 3.88 crore opening of "Bhool Bhulaiyaa" was considered massive, eventually reaching a lifetime worldwide gross of ₹Rs 82.35 crore. When adjusted for today's ticket prices and market reach, its debut would likely match or exceed the current numbers of "Bhooth Bangla".

The original "Bhool Bhulaiyaa" grew significantly through word-of-mouth, whereas "Bhooth Bangla" was met with mixed reviews, putting more pressure on its first weekend to maintain momentum. But it has the advantage of the enduring Akshay Kumar-Priyadarshan brand.

The duo's "Bhool Bhulaiyaa" was a cult classic that spawned a major franchise. Despite being perceived as an 'unofficial sequel', "Bhooth Bangla" is a standalone project, and its Rs 15 crore+ opening is indeed a significant win when compared to Akshay Kumar's recent track record.

"Bhooth Bangla" has also officially overtaken the opening day haul of Kartik Aryan's "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2" (Rs 14.11 crore).

When compared to the opening day numbers of other recent standalone Hindi-language horror blockbusters, "Bhooth Bangla" has outperformed "Stree" (Rs 6.82 crore). 

However, despite its strong start, the film remains far behind the record-breaking numbers of "Stree 2" (Rs 51.80 crore) and the other standalone Maddock Horror Comedy Universe film "Thamma" (Rs 24 crore). 

"Bhooth Bangla" also opened lower than "Bhool Bhulaiyya 3" (Rs 35.50 crore). But we must keep in mind that sequels always benefit from the success and hype of their predecessors. Unlike "Stree 2" or "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3", "Bhooth Bangla" is a fresh standalone film, making its Rs 15 crore+ start particularly notable for an original IP.

Notably, "Bhooth Bangala" marks Akshay Kumar's biggest opening day since "Sooryavanshi" and his second-best post-pandemic start after "Housefull 5".

The film opened across 12,386 shows nationwide with an overall Hindi occupancy of approximately 19% on its first Friday. The estimated budget for the film is approximately Rs 120 crore.