Reviews from critics have largely been negative for Bhooth Bangla, directed by Priyadarshan and starring Akshay Kumar, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Tabu, among others. However, the film has opened well in theatres in terms of commerce.
According to the tracker Sacnilk, it has grossed 61.5 crore at the global box office so far. The film earned gross collections of 42 crore and 19.5 crore in India and overseas, respectively. Its net collection stands at 35 crore, the tracker reports.
Interestingly, the gross collection for the film only went up on Saturday as compared to Friday, its release day, despite the large number of negative reviews for it. According to Sacnilk, the collection increased from 14.70 crore on Friday to 22.80 crore on Saturday.
Bhooth Bangla follows a man (Akshay Kumar) who inherits a palatial building in Mangalpur. When he plans to conduct his sibling's wedding at the palace, strange events take place, causing panic among the locals and making him look into its mysterious past. The film also stars Rajpal Yadav, Jisshu Sengupta, Mithila Palkar, and Manoj Joshi, among others.
In our Bhooth Bangla review, Kartik Bhardwaj wrote that the film "has a lot of fluff from legend-building to flashbacks" and that "it becomes a droll as it tries to repurpose the plot-highlights of Bhool Bhulaiyaa in an updated setting."
The horror-comedy-thriller brought back Priyadarshan and Akshay Kumar for the first time after 2010's Khatta Meetha. It is the first in a series of separate films from director Priyadarshan and starring Akshay. The popular duo also have Haiwaan, a remake of the filmmaker's Malayalam film Oppam, and Hera Pheri 3 in various stages of production.