Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files was received well by audiences in theaters after its release on Friday, surpassing the releases of both Radhe Shyam and Gangubai Kathiawadi. Though these were larger releases than Vivek Agnihotri’s film at over 600 screens each, they failed to reap all the attention they deserved, while it had gained momentum from the excitement surrounding its arrival. On Saturday alone, The Kashmir Files brought in 8.5 crores (about $1 million) more than what was accumulated on Friday for just 650 screens; though this number will continue to grow exponentially during extended hours as even now many showings have already sold out nationwide or are nearly sold out with tickets only available through online resales.
Interestingly, The Kashmir Files experienced difficulty before it was released at the theaters due to a lack of promotion, being in competition with other films during a non-holiday time period, and competing against Radhe Shyam. Despite these odds, the film proved victorious thanks to extremely positive reviews. Theatre chains have begun adding additional showtimes for those who want to see it even sooner than normal.
In response to the high popularity of The Kashmir Files, due to a large spike in advance bookings and initial audiences preferring it over the other releases, there has been an increase from 150-200 screens to approximately 2000 screens total. This bodes well for those looking forward to watching The Kashmir Files which may be capable of raking up more money than The Tashkent Files by only being released for three days at first.
