Box office roundup July: Sanju storm continues while Dhadak and Mission Impossible Fallout shine bright

2018 has been an interesting year with surprises galore. Who would have thought that Ranbir Kapoor‘s Sanju would become Rajkumar Hirani’s biggest hit? Not Aamir Khan’s 3 Idiots or PK but Sanju! July, thus, saw many such amusing twists and turns at the box office. Now that the month has ended, it is time to take a stock of things. While Sanju continued to take the box office by a storm, new releases managed to make a mark too. Janhvi Kapoor finally debuted in Bollywood with Dhadak, which is still minting money, as is Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible Fallout. Here’s a quick recap of what happened at the theatres in July…

Winners

Starting with the spillover from June, Sanju is still raging at the box office. It is now the third highest grossing film of Indian cinema. Only recently it beat Salman Khan’s biggest hit till date – Tiger Zinda Hai and now it has gone past Aamir Khan’s PK as well. Ranbir and Hirani’s combo has created mass hysteria, which has managed to make Sanju go over Rs 300 crore. Now the next target is Dangal’s score which rests at Rs 380 crore and more. If the film manages to achieve that, it will become the highest grossing film of Indian Cinema.

July has seen a slight downward trend in terms of movies that worked at the box office. Apart from Soorma, Dhadak and Mission Impossible, no releases of this month could make a mark. Soorma, a biopic on hockey player, Sandeep Singh, starring Diljit Dosanjh, opened slow.  But it picked up soon after and is still running at the theatres. It goes on to show that the audience just loves BIOPICS.

Dhadak released and everything changed. Janhvi Kapoor’s debut film and Ishaan Khatter’s second film made everything count at the box office. The fact that it’s a remake of Sairat worked immensely in its favour. The film is still earning.

Tom Cruise returned with yet another Mission Impossible film and rocked the box office. It has earned over Rs 30-36 crore already in India, which itself is a big achievement.

Losers

Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3 got Sanjay Dutt this time to up the villainy but to no effect. Less we talk about Nawabzaade the better!

Performers

Diljit Dosanjh definitely deserves a mention here because his portrayal of Sandeep Singh is still winning many hearts. Thus, despite several releases, the film continues to make a mark. But applause is reserved for Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter, whose innocence made Dhadak the film of the month. The audience loved her performance so much that she got mobbed outside a restaurant within a few days of the film’s release. As for Ishaan Khatter, there perhaps isn’t a single critic who didn’t rave about his performance.

July Trends

Apart from the fact that Hollywood continues to make Bollywood films lose at the box office, nothing big has been noticed at the box office this month. Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt has managed to drown Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3…need we say more?

Coming soon…

The festival season for Bollywood begins in August with the Independence Day approaching soon. That date is lucrative for all and thus, we have Akshay Kumar’s Gold and John Abraham’s Satyamev Jayate ready to fight it out. But it will all begin with Fanney Khan and Karwaan, which releases this weekend. There’s Vishwaroopam II, Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi, Stree and Yamla Pagla Deewana. There are a lot of movies at the theatres but how many of these will manage to make the cut? Only time will tell.