The Farhad Samji-directed Akshay Kumar-starring movie, Bachchhan Paandey, starring Kriti Sanon, Arshad Warsi and Jacqueline Fernandez among others was released this weekend. Although the film had a good start at the box office given its content and promotion, it remains to be seen whether it will collect enough money based on reviews alone. However, so far, it has been able to earn Rs. 13.25crore over one day of release – which makes for an impressive second best opening figure for India after Sooryavanshi (which opened at Rs. 26crore), but still falls short by quite some distance from Baahubali 2’s record breaking opening day collection figures (at Rs 973 crore).
On the one hand, Bachchhan Paandey does exceed openings weekend gross for other big releases like Ranveer Singh-starrer 83 which earned RS. 12.64 cr., Alia Bhatt-starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi that earned RS. 10.50 cr., and Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Jhund which earned RS.1.38 crore (US$2 million). With the holiday season of Holi now coming to an end, trade experts predict a solid collection for this film over the three day time span.
Unfortunately, last week’s release The Kashmir Files is expected to dampen revenue; it currently has a 1% higher rating than this newest Hollywood blockbuster due to continued audience turnout at theatres nationwide despite some negative reviews from critics in Mumbai or Delhi who watched it while they were here visiting relatives just after Diwali—they felt it was too Hollywoodised so there was no atmosphere at all!
Highest Opening Day Grossers Post the Pandemic at a glance:
Sooryavanshi – Rs. 26.29 cr
Bachchhan Paandey – Rs. 13.25cr
83 – Rs. 12.64 cr
Gangubai Kathiawadi – Rs. 10.50 cr
The Kashmir Files – Rs. 3.55 cr
Pushpa: The Rise – Part 1 – Rs. 3.33 cr
Badhaai Do -Rs. 1.65 cr
Jhund – Rs. 1.38 cr
