From May 30, the biggest tournament in the field of cricket is about to start. The ICC Cricket World Cup  2019 will begin from the date in England and Wales, and the India team, led by Virat Kohli, is going in as hot favourites. All India cricket fans would be affixed on their television screens about seeing if their team can take back the World Cup from the Queen's country from the defending champions Australia. Seeing how India has one of the stronger teams and have done it once (in 1983, against West Indies), we say, 'why not?' ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Predictions: Pakistan Can Pull Off Upset Like 1992, Says Waqar Younis.

While the Indian cricket fans would be quite excited about the tournament, Bollywood trade-wallahs have a different story to say. For the World Cup period is considered to be the slackest time, when it comes to the box office. This year, we have some biggies releasing during the period. Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif's Bharat is making a grand release on June 5. Article 15, starring

Ayushmann Khurrana, is coming out on June 28. Shahid Kapoor's Kabir Singh is releasing on 21, while Hrithik Roshan's Super 30 will make its way into theatres on July 12, clashing with Sidharth Malhotra and Parineeti Chopra's Jabariya Jodi. CONFIRMED! Hrithik Roshan’s Super 30 Finds New Release Date; to Clash with Ekta Kapoor’s Jabariya Jodi on July 12.

This is the first time this century that there are so many biggies coming out during the World Cup period. Otherwise, it is usually a period with a few releases and fewer hits.

In this special feature, we look at all the World Cups that happened in the 21st Century and how they affected the Bollywood box office.

2003 World Cup

Photo Credits: Getty

Period: From  February 9 to March 23

The first World Cup of this Century also gave Bollywood one of its driest spells at the box office. Though there were a couple of big releases in the period like Akshay Kumar and Priyanka Chopra's Andaaz and Zayed Khan's debut film, Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne, none of the films managed to create a major blast at the box office. As for the World Cup, India, under the leadership of Saurav Ganguly, reached the final but lost by a big margin to Australia.

Biggest Hit: None, though Andaaz was the better among the worse.

Photo Credits: Shree Krishna International

2007 World Cup

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 29: The Australian Team celebrate with the trophy after the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup final match between Australia and New Zealand at Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 29, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Period: From March 13  to April 28

This was India's worst World Cup campaign of the century, as the team, captained by Rahul Dravid, found itself hurled out of the competition in the first round itself. Perhaps, the disappointment that Indian fans had with their team was somewhat compensated at the box office. Though there were flops, the period also had a huge hit in Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif's Namastey London. Even  Vinay Pathak's Bheja Fry turned out to be a decent hit at the multiplexes.

Biggest Hit: Namastey London

Photo Credits: Viacom 18 Motion Pictures

2011 World Cup

Photo Credits: Getty Images

Period: From February 19 to April 2

... aka the Cup that India won, under Mahendra Singh Dhoni's captaincy. Perhaps, the fact that the competition was set in the Asian continent, that the producers didn't have many Bollywood releases in the period. Though there were some biggies. Akshay Kumar's Patiala House, that had cricket as its theme, tried to cash in on the World Cup fever, but tanked. Priyanka Chopra's dark drama 7 Khoon Maaf gave her a lot of appreciation, but the movie flopped. The big hit of the period belonged to Kangana Ranaut, with her romantic comedy, Tanu Weds Manu.

Biggest Hit: Tanu Weds Manu

Photo Credits: Viacom 18 Motion Pictures

2015 World Cup

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 29: Australian players celebrate winning the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup final match between Australia and New Zealand at Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 29, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Period: From February 14 to March 29

India, the returning champions under the captaincy of Dhoni, however, couldn't reach the final and Australia took the trophy home. At the box office, things were looking better. Yes, it was still a slack period and a couple of big movies like, Ranbir Kapoor's Roy and Nana Patekar's Ab Tak Chhappan 2 flopped. But the period also saw two hits in Varun Dhawan's Badlapur and Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar's Dum Laga Ke Haisha. There is also Anushka Sharma's maiden production, NH-10, that performed decently at the box office.

Biggest Hit: Badlapur

Photo Credits: Maddock Films

As you can see, there has been an increase in the number of hits in the successive World Cup periods. So can we expect the 2019 World Cup not affect the movie releasing during this period? All eyes are definitely on Salman Khan's Bharat to show that love for cricket can never beat the love for movies.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 28, 2019 09:10 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).