Entertainment Desk

Ranbir Kapoor and Bobby Deol starrer Bollywood film Animal has dominated headlines ever since its teaser was released and from the way its advance booking is being reported, it seems it is all set to do the same at the box office. Ranbir’s films have had an inconsistent track at the box office of late. The actor is expected to beat box office blues with Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal, which is expected to open with Rs 100 crore globally.

Animal, to hit the theatres today, is an intense crime saga which revolves around the complicated relationship between Arjun Singh (Ranbir) and his industrialist father Balbir Singh (Anil Kapoor). The cast also includes Bobby Deol as Ranbir’s mute nemesis who is enough to tempt the 90s kids to come to the theatres. Rashmika Mandanna, an actor with a good pull in the southern region of the country, plays Ranbir’s submissive wife. The film’s director Vanga carries weight as well.

Film trade expert and producer, Girish Johar told indianexpress.com, “Expectations are mammoth from Aninal. Ranbir Kapoor has a penchant for starting big on non-holidays, which others can’t do even on holidays, so that’s clearly up his sleeve. Animal is a brilliant presentation and people are keenly looking forward to it. Despite the adult certificate, non-holiday release and its longer duration, the film is set to have a massive opening, not only in India but also in overseas markets.”

Johar suggested that Animal is a “blasting package” which will do a business of Rs 100 crore GBOC, with Rs 55 crore coming just from the Hindi version. The regional version of the film is expected to earn somewhere around Rs 15 crore on the opening day.

On the other hand, Meghna Gulzar’s Sam Bahadur, featuring Vicky Kaushal, which releases on the same day as Animal, is looking at a slower start, although the audience has loved the film’s trailer. It has Kaushal bringing to the fore the story of India’s war hero and first Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. But Animal being a mass entertainer would edge out Sam Bahadur, leaving it to start slow at the ticket counters. Girish Johar said the film is expected to earn Rs 3-4 crore on December 1 and would grow over the weekend on the basis of word of mouth.

Meanwhile, both Sam Bahadur and Animal hold important places in the overall box office performance of 2023, which has been good so far primarily because of Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Pathaan’ and ‘Jawan’, and Sunny Deol’s Gadar 2. December stays crucial as it will decide whether 2023 could bring out the Indian film industry from the slumber of three years.