Diwali 2024 will see a dhamakedaar Bollywood fare at the box office, with Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 both releasing on the same day on November 1. The first day of November 2024 happens to be Laxmi Puja, the first day of the auspicious Hindu festival of Diwali. At the film window, the fight will be between the ensemble cast of the Rohit Shetty-directed cop franchise versus the cast of writer-director Anees Bazmee’s horror comedy franchise. Trade experts are predicting a neck-to-neck fight between Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. Advance bookings and occupancy reports claim that Singham Again is slightly ahead of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 at the box office. The Ajay Devgn film has reportedly collected INR 66 lakh in advance and the Kartik Aaryan film has garnered between INR 48 to INR 60 lakh as of October 27.

Bollywood’s Three Big Diwali Release Wars Over the Years

The Bhool Bhulaiya 3 and Singham Again clash is not the first time that big Bollywood films have battled it out for Diwali supremacy at the box office. Let's take a look at some more such conflicts of the Titans in recent times. ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ Box Office: Kartik Aaryan Film Sells 17,000 Tickets in Advance Booking! Details Inside.

Karan Johar’s ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ vs Ajay Devgn’s ‘Shivaay’ (2016)

Filmmaker Karan Johar and actor-filmmaker Ajay Devgn were not on talking terms due to this Diwali box office battle in 2016. The films in question were their respective labours of love – Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (ADHM) and Shivaay. While ADHM was Karan Johar’s directorial after a gap, hence special, Shivaay was equally special as Ajay Devgn was not only acting in it as the lead but also directing and producing it. The box office war was won by the romantic film starring Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anushka Sharma. ADHM  grossed over INR 235 crore at the box office. Shivaay, an actioner starring Devgn and Sayyeshaa Saigal, Abigail Eames and Erika Kaar, earned INR 124 crore.

YRF’s ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ vs Ajay Devgn’s ‘Son of Sardaar’ (2012)

Yash Raj Films’ romantic drama Jab Tak Hai Jaan, the last film directed by the maverick filmmaker Yash Chopra and starring Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, had a big Diwali clash in 2012 with Ajay Devgn’s Son of Sardaar. Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn were not happy with the war at the BO. Jab Tak Hai Jaan made over INR 100 crore – a big amount at the time – at the ticket window, while Son of Sardaar collected about INR 88 crore.

SRK-Deepika Padukone’s ‘Om Shanti Om’ vs Ranbir Kapoor-Sonam Kapoor’s ‘Saawariya’ (2007)

Shah Rukh Khan had earlier tasted failure with Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani in 2000, when newbie star kid Hrithik Roshan stormed the box office with his debut film Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai. Therefore, in 2007, SRK may have been a bit nervous when another star kid – Ranbir Kapoor – was making his debut in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya alongside his release Om Shanti Om (OSO). While Saawariya was also the debut of star kid Sonam Kapoor, audiences were more impressed with debutante Deepika Padukone in Om Shanti Om. Add to that the double role and reincarnation angle with the melodious music, and Farah Khan’s OSO was a hit! SRK won this time. Om Shanti Om collected INR 78 crore at the box office, and Saawariya made INR 20 crore.

'Singham Again' vs 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3': Who Will Rule the Box Office on Diwali 2024?

As the battle between Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 heats up, director Rohit Shetty seems confident of his film, having seen several Diwali battles with his other franchise – Golmaal. Singham Again is a cop drama with a Ramayana-based plot and stars Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Jackie Shroff and Tiger Shroff, with Arjun Kapoor as the main villain. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 is another blockbuster franchise and stars Kartik Aaryan, Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit and Triptii Dimri, with two female 'ghosts' and a dance-off battle between them to boot. ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ Song ‘Ami Je Tomar 3.0’: Madhuri Dixit-Vidya Balan’s Epic Dance Face-Off in Kartik Aaryan’s Upcoming Film Is Pure Magic! (Watch Video). 

'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3' Stars Kartik Aaryan, Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit and Triptii Dimri - Watch Trailer:

As the nation gets into the festive mood for Diwali 2024, we feel both Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 will make good money at the box office. We have seen in the past with Aamir Khan’s Oscar-nominated Lagaan and Sunny Deol’s patriotic blockbuster Gadar: Ek Prem Katha that two films releasing at the same time can work wonders at the box office, if the quality of content is exceptional. Both these films of the two superstars had released on June 15, 2001. However, it’s a fact that with its worldwide box office collection of INR 111.73 crore, Gadar made almost double the all-time worldwide box office figures of Lagaan at just over INR 58 crore.

Finally, for the long weekend of Diwali 2024, it will depend on the ticket availability and initial movie reviews of Singham Again and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 to figure out who wins the opening box office race.

'Singham Again' Boasts of Starry Ensemble Cast - Watch Trailer:

Disclaimer: All box office figures are according to information available in the public domain.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 28, 2024 03:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).