Toilet: Ek Prem Katha - Will Akshay Kumar's film work at the box office? Trade Experts begin the prediction game

Toilet: Ek Prem Katha is all set to release tomorrow and trade experts are banking on the film as 2017 has not been a great year in terms of box office numbers. We have had big banner films like Tubelight, Jab Harry Met Sejal and Jagga Jagoos that failed to deliver as averse to the expectations.

Coming back to Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, the film focuses on eradicating the practice of open defecation in the country. It's a step in order to help Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet project Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The film stars Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar in the lead roles. 

We got in touch with trade experts and asked for their take on the first-day collection. But before that, let's get into maths of the budget: 

Cost of Production: INR 22 crore (Without Akshay's remuneration)

Music, video and other rights: INR 12 crore

First Day Collectio: INR 12-15 crore (Approx)

Screen Count: 3200 (Approx)

Here's what trade experts have to say: 

What about the first-day collection? 

Akshaye Rathi

"I honestly think that the film is pretty interesting as the subject is focusing on keeping India clean and eradicating the whole practice of open defecation. It's so relevant in India. It's great that an actor is taking an initiative and putting things out - it's commendable. If we talk about such film, the audience only remembers the name of Aamir Khan and of late, Akshay Kumar is trying to gain that trust of the audience. I see no reason that the film will not do well. Talking about the first-day collection, I see it around INR 12-13 crore and the first-weekend collection to be around 40-45 crore."

Atul Mohan

"I am looking for a figure in the range of around INR 15 crore. The budget is around INR 22 crore without Akshay's remuneration as he is one of the producers of the film. He has a major share in the profit of the film. The tax-free status in some states will also help the film. We do have a dedicated audience watching the morning shows but what's happening is that post GST, ticket prices have gone up. The tickets of the morning shows have also gone high - earlier it was in the range of 100 and now it's gone more than INR 200. The higher ticket prices do affect the occupancy rate."

Amod Mehra

"What I can say is that I feel they are scared of it as the length is pretty long - 2hrs 30 mins - and plus they haven't shown the film to anybody that shows that filmmakers are not that confident. It's a critic sort of a film at least they should have shown to the media. I don't expect much as there is no buzz around the film. The only buzz which is there is because of Akshay Kumar's name. I am not expecting any great opening tomorrow. If it's nice - let the product talk."

Will Akshay's film bring some respite as big banner films didn't work at the box office? 

Akshaye Rathi

"We already have entered into the time where stardom is not important than the content, engagement and the entertainment value of it. Obviously, Varun Dhawan is no big star than a Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan, but see the box office numbers of Badrinath Ki Dulhania. It's basically the content and relatability of the subject which works more. A star can only get you the opening but beyond that, it's only content."

Atul Mohan

"We have heavily been banking on Toilet: Ek Prem Katha to bring some respite to the industry which is not doing that great we all know. All the big names are not delivering - be it Tubelight or Jab Harry Met Sejal. We hope that Toilet works as we all know that Akshay Kumar is going through the best phase of his career as almost all the films he has done in the recent past have done well. The image he has - patriotic one - almost all the films have come around Independence or Republic Day. The film has been directly or indirectly endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

Amod Mehra

"It has been bad for the industry. It completely depends on the subject. It's basically an educational film and it's not an ideal film that I can go and tell it to people you can go and watch. It's not entertainment. If the story is entertaining then only it's work because the subject is not. It's an educational film, but for this, you really need tickets worth of INR 300. It shouldn't be more than INR 200. Advance booking is also not that great. People are not ready to book the tickets before seeing the review. If they want to do something, then why keep the ticket prices so high? I hope that the film works so that people get more educated."

Have you booked your tickets for Toilet: Ek Prem Katha?