Akshay Kumar has returned to theaters with the latest mega budget historical film, Samrat Prithviraj. Unfortunately, it was reported that the movie had only recieved a lackluster start at the box office because it opened in close range to films like Alia Bhatt’s Gangubai Kathiawadi and managed an opening day collection of Rs. 10.50-11.50 crores according to reports released by Bollywood Hungama today.
It was clear from the very beginning that Pritviraj’s latest movie would not perform well at all. Opening day collections are below what they were for his past release, which also featured Akshay Kumar – Bachchan Paandey. With a movie budget as high as Pritviraj’s latest project, it seems reasonable to assume that its first opening day revenue should have been over Rs. 16 crores; but this is clearly an example of underperforming on its first big business day. It could’ve been worse if the movie hadn’t had tax-free status in some Indian States – particularly ones where Hindi speaking audiences live.
The movie has gone past the two digit number mainly because of its success in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. The film had an occupancy rate of only 30% in Metro areas, which is significantly less than Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 did. Even so, even though the exact number isn’t clear from non-digital locations – places where Samrat Prithviraj does well – it seems probable that there will be at least a marginal increase for this reason.
As trends suggest, the film will likely experience an increase in sales on Saturday and Sunday. Given how profitable these days are for movies – especially given that its target demographic is still out of school – this could make a huge difference in ticket sales. Due to lack of interest from younger people, however, Prithviraj experienced lower-than-expected earnings on Day One. But if they do end up seeing it over the next few days – which would not be unprecedented given how young people often wait until closer to the weekend before seeing anything – then we might expect this trend to continue as well after Friday (even though Friday was surprisingly good).
