Will Akshay Kumar's 'Housefull 3' cross Rs 20 crore at box office on opening day?

Housefull is possibly one of the most bankable franchises ever. Housefull and Housefull 2 have not only entertained the audiences but have also raked in huge moolah at the box office. With Housefull 3, the star status along with the franchise's recall value are big pluses.

Now, the ensemble film has also got the widest release of the year so far. Housefull 3 released in around 3600 screens on Friday. People are expecting firecrackers at the box office but we believe that the film might fall a little short of the Rs 20 crore mark on its opening day. 

The morning show occupancy suggest that HF3 had a 35% opening across the nation. Expectedly, the film picked up in the later shows but it still hasn't showed the pace that it needed to cross the Rs 20 crore mark. The evening shows are decent but not excellent which will hamper the film's growth towards the second half. 

But given that it has the widest release, the percentage being the third highest (after Fan and Baaghi) doesn't necessarily mean it would put up a total below Baaghi. Rather, it suggests that the first day figures for Housefull 3 will be around Rs 15-17 crore and might hit the Rs 18 crore mark if it picks up in the night shows.