Following the second wave of pandemic, the cinema halls are finally gearing up to reopen with the Akshay Kumar fronted Bell Bottom. The action thriller has acted as a major respite for the exhibitors across the country, who have been devoid of fresh content for the big screen. The makers have been brave to go ahead with the film’s release plan on August 19, despite a key market like Maharashtra being shut for film exhibition.
However, the release issue doesn’t end at Maharashtra being shut for Bell Bottom, as even other major markets in the country are functional with multiple restrictions in place. While markets like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Sikkim continue to remain shut, the film will miss out on the late evening and night shows at places like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh.
Most of the single screens in India will be playing 3 shows of Bell Bottom, as compared to 4 in the pre-covid times, which means, the producers will lose out on the revenue of one show per day. There are some single screens which might not even open up for the release of Bell Bottom, as the exhibitors decided to down their shutters for good due to the pandemic. Even the multiplexes will run lesser shows than the general norm, as the government regulations require cinema halls to shut down at many markets by 8 pm, which suggests a last show around 5.15 pm. 
Most of the single screens in India will be playing 3 shows of Bell Bottom, as compared to 4 in the pre-covid times, which means, the producers will lose out on the revenue of one show per day.
Pinkvilla
The short run time of Bell Bottom – 2 hour 5 minute – will enable it to get more shows in the day, however, major chunk of revenues for feature films came in the evening and night shows in the pre-covid world and that would surely be impacted here. Given the dynamic scenario, it’s difficult to put out a screen count as that would vary by the day till the film’s release. However, screen count here would be misleading as very few screens in India would be put to optimum use and the ideal way to gauge the BO potential would be through show count in India.
There are talks about the opening day biz of the film, however, in uncertain times like these, it’s futile to put undue pressure and expect unrealistic numbers from this Akshay Kumar film. It’s rather best to sit and look at the film as a case study, more of a stepping stone as the future course in the industry depends on the way Bell Bottom performs. It’s all about getting the cycle started again, and the wheel will certainly start rolling from August 19.
Here’s a look at the occupancy cap and time restrictions across India:
