Bhooth Bangla Box Office: Akshay Kumar Hit Closes

Bhooth Bangla, the horror comedy that reunited Akshay Kumar with director Priyadarshan, has completed its theatrical run and is now on Netflix. Trackers agree it was a hit but disagree by more than ₹20 crore on the worldwide total, so the figures below are attributed and should be read as trade estimates.

The closing numbers

Koimoi's closing report gives Bhooth Bangla a worldwide gross of ₹292.64 crore: ₹235.09 crore in India and ₹57.55 crore overseas. Against a reported budget of ₹120 crore, Koimoi estimates a return of ₹79.23 crore, or 66.02 per cent, and rates the result Plus. It also calls the film Akshay Kumar's fifth-highest grosser overall.

Sacnilk's figures are lower. It lists a worldwide gross of ₹270.91 crore, an India gross of ₹215.91 crore and an India net of ₹182.36 crore. ABP Live cited the same ₹270 crore figure when the film reached Netflix. Pinkvilla's closing report is lower still, at about ₹259 crore worldwide. Koimoi's own October 18 list of 2026 grossers gives an India total of ₹199.23 crore, which puts the film sixth among Hindi releases this year.

Those differences come from reporting cut-offs and overseas data. None of the trackers calls the film a loss.

The film

Bhooth Bangla was released on April 17, 2026. It is directed by Priyadarshan and stars Akshay Kumar with Paresh Rawal, Tabu, Rajpal Yadav, Wamiqa Gabbi, Jisshu Sengupta, Manoj Joshi, Mithila Palkar, Asrani and Rajesh Sharma. It is produced by Balaji Motion Pictures and Cape of Good Films.

The release date mattered. Variety India reported in March that producer Ekta Kapoor delayed the film to avoid competition from Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which opened on March 19. The wait paid off in at least one respect: KS Box Office lists an opening day of about ₹16 crore and a first week of ₹86.55 crore, and Koimoi puts the opening weekend at ₹65.65 crore.

Where it sits in Akshay's year

Akshay Kumar had three releases in 2026. According to Bollywood Hungama's filmography page, they were Bhooth Bangla on April 17, Welcome to the Jungle on June 26 and Haiwaan on September 11. Bhooth Bangla was the strongest of the three. Welcome to the Jungle closed at about ₹196 crore worldwide on Koimoi's count. Haiwaan, a remake directed by Priyadarshan with Saif Ali Khan, was reported as a flop by The Print and The Indian Express.

Priyadarshan's comments after Haiwaan are worth noting. The Indian Express reported that he ruled out serious films with Akshay Kumar, which suggests the pair will stay with comedy. Hera Pheri 3 is not in production: Akshay said it was not happening for now, and Priyadarshan said it may never be made because of complications.

Streaming and the long tail

ABP Live reported that Bhooth Bangla arrived on Netflix after its theatrical run, which means the box office total is now final. For a horror comedy that opened to ₹16 crore on day one, the run was unusually strong, with the film earning about 12 times its opening day by the time it finished on Koimoi's India total.

How to read the verdict

A Plus verdict on Koimoi's scale means a profit on theatrical business. Other outlets use labels such as Hit and Super Hit. Because budgets are reported, not audited, a return of 66 per cent should be treated as an estimate. If the lower Sacnilk gross is used, the film's return would be smaller but still positive against a ₹120 crore budget.

The simple summary is that Bhooth Bangla earned between roughly ₹259 crore and ₹293 crore worldwide, cost about ₹120 crore by reported figures, and gave Akshay Kumar the most reliable commercial result of his 2026 slate.

Sources

*Cover photo: Sureshsharmaptv63, Wikimedia Commons, *[*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Akshay_Kumar_and_Siddharth_Malhotra_with_suresh_sharma.JPG*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Akshay_Kumar_and_Siddharth_Malhotra_with_suresh_sharma.JPG)* (CC BY-SA 4.0).*