In spite of IPL, it's full house for Housefull 2

It seems Bollywood has finally managed to bat the Indian Premier League (IPL) googly with Housefull 2 off to a flying start on Friday. According to multiplex officials, the multi-starrer featuring Akshay Kumar, Asin, John Abraham and Riteish Deshmukh registered an average occupancy of 85 to 90 per cent. Trade official expect the first day figure could cross Rs 15 crore, as per initial trends, while some are expecting it to touch Rs 17-18 crore, making it one of highest openings of 2012.

“IPL’s impact was so huge that due to the large dip in occupancy, cinema halls showed IPL matches, as fewer people turned up to watch movies. Now the fear of IPL has completely gone from the industry,” says Taran Adarsh, film trade analyst. Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and distributed by Eros International, the movie was released in 3,000 screens on Friday.

Not just Bollywood, even James Cameron’s Titanic in 3D, released on Thursday, had an occupancy of 80-90 per cent. “In spite of the IPL, we have grossed Rs 1.15 crore on the opening day. The movie has got the best per-screen average, and it’s also released in the highest number of 3D screens for any Hollywood movie,” said Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios. Titanic 3D was released on 214 screens in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and English.

Before the IPL was launched in 2008, April-June was considered lucrative as it coincided with the vacation for students, but because of the IPL, new movie launches were deferred. This year, however, at least half-a-dozen big films, with close to Rs 300 crore riding on them, have planned their releases bang in the middle of the mega sporting event.

The movies slated to hit the silver screen in the next two months include Vidhu Vinod Chopra-Rajkumar Hirani’s Ferrari Ki Sawaari; Priyadarshan-directed Tezz, starring Ajay Devgn; Mukesh Bhatt-Emraan Hashmi's Jannat 2; Yash Raj Films's Ishaqzaade; Viacom 18 Motion Picture’s action thriller Department, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt; and Vikram Bhatt's 3D film Dangerous Ishhq. All these are in the range of Rs 35-60 crore.

Most entertainment industry officials feel Bollywood has to learn to co-exist with IPL, considering that the latter has become a part of the calendar, rather than losing a six-week window period.

“In the US and the UK, sports and entertainment co-exist as sporting activities are held throughout the year,” said Sunil Punjabi, CEO, Cinemax.