With just two days left for release, Jolly LLB 3 is seeing very poor advance bookings. National multiplex chains like PVRInox and Cinepolis have sold only 15,000 tickets so far, which is the lowest for any major franchise film.
Despite the success of the first two films, this instalment seems to be struggling. The makers brought Akshay Kumar and Arshad Warsi together as two Jollys, but the strategy has not created the expected excitement among moviegoers.
Initial predictions suggested the film might sell 75,000 tickets before release, but that now seems impossible. At this rate, Jolly LLB 3 may only open at Rs 9-10 crores on its first day at the box office.
Trade experts believe the producers might resort to block bookings to show a higher first-day total of Rs 14-15 crores. However, they may wait to see if strong word-of-mouth drives real footfall on day two.
Fans and critics feel the trailer did not build any buzz, which has resulted in weak advance bookings. Many have urged Akshay Kumar to take a break and focus on quality scripts rather than releasing multiple films every year.
Akshay has been facing a rough patch at the box office for over two years. It remains to be seen if Jolly LLB 3 can reverse his streak of underperforming releases or if it will add to his struggles.
