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Could Akshay Kumar's 'Housefull 3' Become India's Highest Grossing Comedy Of All Time?

This article is more than 7 years old.

The first edition of Housefull raked in 75.5 crore ($11.3 million) in India in 2010, and the second edition pulled in 110 crore ($16.5 million) in 2012. Could the franchise’s third installment do even better and perhaps claim the title of the highest-grossing Hindi comedy of all time?

Some pundits believe Housefull 3, which launches on June 3 on 3,500-4,000 screens in India and on more than 650 screens internationally, is a no-brainer to reach 100 crore ($15 million).

Beyond that, the romantic comedy produced by Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment’s Sajid Nadiadwala could well  surpass the reigning comedy champ Ready, the 2011 mistaken-identity caper starring Salman Khan, Asin and Paresh Rawal, which made 120 crore ($18 million).

The franchise’s lynchpin Akshay Kumar is running hot after Airlift, director Raja Krishna Menon’s action-drama in which he played the man who orchestrated the mass evacuation of Indians from Kuwait during the Iran-Iraq War in 1990. It collected 127.80 crore ($19.2 million) and is the number one Hindi title released this year.

Trade analyst Amul Mohan predicts the comedy will gross at least 15 crore ($2.2 million) on its opening day, observing, “It’s riding on immense buzz and is surely going to be an ideal summer holiday special for students who are right now in the midst of their school vacation. Add to all these things the fact it’s one of the biggest comedy franchises, it’s going to be a winner at the ticket window.”

Directed by Sajid Samji and Farhad Samji, Housefull 3 follows three guys (Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh) as they venture to their father-in-law to-be's house to try to persuade him to let them marry his daughters. As the father of the trio portrayed by Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri and Lisa Haydon, Boman Irani's character invents a fake story to deter the suitors, claiming that he will die the moment any of them speaks to or looks at him. The supporting cast includes Jackie Shroff, Nikitin Dheer, Samir Kochlar and Arav Chowdharry.

The first edition raked in $4 million outside India and the second made double that for Eros International and Nadiadwala, who scored another hit this year with Baaghi, the romantic action drama starring Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor, which earned 76 crore ($11.4 million).

Posted in April after being screened to 50,000 people in 100 cinemas across India, the trailer has been viewed more than 13 million times on YouTube. Since then, the stars have toured major cities including Delhi, Ahmedabad and Indore and appeared on all the leading TV comedy shows. Eros is using  Twitter  to show humorous videos shot by the actors during the shoot or during promotions.

Akshay Kumar and Abhishek Bachchan renewed their on-screen bromance after last working together in 2002 on Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya. Kumar is renowned for his comic timing, but he expects to get flak from some quarters for his slapstick antics. “I am not making the film for myself, I am making it because I am Housefull; this is my family on the big screen. I've earned respect, now it's time to enjoy. I don't care how I'm criticized,” he told The Times of India.

Making people laugh will always be my greatest gift . Yes, I enjoy going out of my comfort area to do films like Airlift, Baby and Holiday. But I don't buy the argument that only intense cinema makes a difference to society. I personally think making someone laugh is equally important and believe me, very hard."

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