India, June 14 -- Echoes of the Past, Mimoh Chakraborty's character Dev says, "When the impossible becomes possible, the only thing left to believe is the impossible." It sounds absurd until you look at this week's box office. Somehow, films as painstakingly assembled as Imtiaz Ali's Main Vaapas Aaunga and Kangana Ranaut's Bharat Bhaagya Viddhaata have opened below Vikram Bhatt's latest horror flick. At this point, the supernatural isn't on screen; it's at the ticket window. The trade has always had one golden rule: expect the unexpected. This weekend, it feels more like a warning than advice.

I sauntered into a half-full theatre and settled into my seat, expecting a run-of-the-mill horror film. After all, Vikram churns them out with suc...