Hype Meter: Shahid Kapoor – Shraddha Kapoor’s Batti Gul Meter Chalu On The Box Office Prediction Scale!

This week will see the release of Batti Gul Meter Chalu starring Shahid Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor in lead. The movie is directed by Shree Narayan Singh who last directed Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, and just like the Akshay Kumar film, even this one is a social comedy. The music of Batti Gul Meter Chalu is tracking well with songs like Gold Tamba, Hard Hard and Dekhte Dekhte finding a place on major music chart. The theatrical trailer of the film also garnered a decent response all across with the YouTube Views falling in the range of 32 Million. The on-ground reaction to the theatrical trailer was quite mixed, however the music has in a way covered up for the not so great theatrical trailer.

On YouTube, the three songs mentioned above aggregated 106 Million Views and even on music streaming app like Savn, the songs are a smash hit. On Savn, which is the most popular application for music in India, the three songs in aggregate have got approximately 11 Million streams. To sum it up, the music of Batti Gul Meter Chalu has worked and got a section of youth excited for the film, and a better theatrical trailer would have resulted in a double digit start. The movie is Shahid Kapoor’s first film after Padmaavat, which is a positive factor and the actor is seen doing a commercial looking solo film after a long break. The success of Stree has also put Shraddha Kapoor in a strong position.

Batti Gul Meter Chalu would be looking to release on approximately 2200 to 2500 screens in India, and the potential of these screens would be around Rs 33 to 35 crore at normal ticket rates. As the movie releases on a non-holiday, we expect the film to open in the range of Rs 7.50 to 8.50 crore in India. A major contributor to this film should be the metros as Shahid Kapoor is a popular entity in these places, however as it has been proved in the past, Shraddha Kapoor too has consistently ensured reasonable opening at the mass belts. An opening below the Rs 7.50 crore mark would be extremely disappointing, but given the success of music, it is certain that the movie will open in the above-mentioned range. With a positive word of mouth, the biz would escalate over the weekend and the film would pack a solid punch with weekend collections around the Rs 30.00 crore mark in India.

The best case scenario for Batti Gul Meter Chalu with an excellent trailer and chartbuster music, taking into consideration the genre and star-cast would have been an opening of Rs 12 to 13 crore, however since the trailer didn’t really create the desired “must watch” impact, we are going ahead with Rs 7.50 to 8.50 crore opening, which means a rating of 3 on the hype meter. The word of mouth would eventually decide fate of the film.

Hype Meter: 3 on 5

Opening Day Prediction: Rs 7.50 to Rs 8.50 crore