Kartik Aaryan-starrer Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 was slightly ahead of Ajay Devgn’s Singham Again in pre-sales before the much-anticipated Diwali box-office clash on Friday, as per advance booking data with industry data-tracking portal Sacnilk.

Thanks to a longer pre-sales duration, Anees Bazmee’s horror-comedy held the edge over Rohit Shetty’s star-studded cop universe film. Tickets for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 were made available two-to-three days prior to Singham Again in some locations.

According to industry data-tracking portal Sacnilk, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 has generated Rs 19.22 crore gross in all-India pre-sales, selling approximately 5.54 lakh tickets for 9,901 shows.

Nonetheless, Singham Again has proven to be a formidable contender. The action-packed sequel, starring Ajay Devgn, sold 5.12 lakh tickets in national chains, generating Rs 18.69 crore gross in advance sales for 13,689 shows.

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 has reported the highest sales in Maharashtra (Rs 4.09 crore gross), Delhi (Rs 3.8 crore gross), Gujarat (Rs 2.58 crore gross), Uttar Pradesh (Rs 1.8 crore gross) and West Bengal (Rs 1.34 crore gross).

Singham Again amassed the highest collections from advance sales in Maharashtra (Rs 4.57 crore gross), Gujarat (Rs 3.83 crore gross), Uttar Pradesh (Rs 1.5 crore gross) and Karnataka (Rs 1.14 crore gross).

Industry analysts expect both films to perform within a similar range on their first day. As per Sacnilk, Singham Again is likely to open at Rs 82 crore gross (Rs 68 crore nett), while Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 might mint Rs 55 crore gross (Rs 45 crore nett) on Day 1.