'Happy Bhag Jayegi' box office prediction: Film makes poor 1st day collection as 'Rustom' still dominates in theatres

Romantic comedy movie "Happy Bhag Jayegi" has been released on Aug. 19 and is likely to face tough competition from "Rustom" as far as box office collection is concerned. Akshay Kumar's "Rustom" has been having a strong run at the box office even after its first week.

Starring Diana Penty, Abhay Deol, Ali Fazal and Jimmy Shergill, among others, "Happy Bhag Jayegi" has reportedly witnessed a poor opening at the box office on its first day. The film opened with a low occupancy rate of 15 percent as "Rustom" still continues to dominate with around 30 percent occupancy at the theatres, accoording to Bollywood Hungama.

With such response on the opening day, early predictions suggest that 1st day box office collection of "Happy Bhag Jayegi" will be around Rs. 1.5 to 2 crore in the domestic market. Co-produced by popular director Aanand L Rai and Eros International having its distribution rights, "Happy Bhag Jayegi" has some hype around it, but "Rustom" is far bigger in all aspects.

The Akshay-starrer is about to reach Rs. 100 crore mark at the Indian box office and has been maintaining a steady pace even in its second week. Hrithik Roshan's "Mohenjo Daro" failed to compete with "Rustom" but is likely to add more trouble for "Happy Bhag Jayegi."

Considered to be Diana's comeback movie, the comedy film has received mixed reviews from the critics and is likely to survive the tough fight only if it manages to generate positive word of mouth. Meanwhile, "Rustom," with a first week collection of Rs. 90 crore nett at Indian box office, has come up as Akshay's highest opening week grossing movies of all time. The crime-thriller is now eyeing to break several other records in days to come.