Box Office: How have RRR, Bachchhan Paandey, The Kashmir Files and Attack fared in theatres?
In this segment, we discuss the hits and misses churned out by the Indian Film Industry at the box office in the last couple of months.
The exhibition sector for the first time in a long time recorded staggering numbers at the box office. Although it has been a mixed bag in terms of films that have performed and those that have not, the overall condition of the sector seems good as audiences are ready to pay the desired amount to catch a film that is worth their money and time.
After the successful run of Gangubai Kathiawadi at the end of February, the month of March started on a dismal note with Amitabh Bachchan led Jhund failing to make a mark at the box office. The Batman too didn’t have strong legs at the box office as it fizzled out after a very good first weekend. High expectations were put on Prabhas and Pooja Hegde starrer Radhe Shyam, but the film failed to put on a show in any language that it released in.
The biggest surprise this month came from Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files which is steadily heading towards a lifetime cume of Rs. 250 cr nett. The film opened to Rs. 3.5 cr in around 550 screens. The film got so much support that at one point of its theatrical run, it was running in 4000 screens and raking in around Rs. 25 cr nett. The film was running so strong at the box office that it braved a star-led film like Akshay Kumar and Kriti Sanon’s Bachchhan Paandey, which ended its theatrical run at a paltry Rs. 48 cr nett. There can be many reasons for the disastrous results of Bachchhan Paandey, but the main reason can be attributed to content that didn’t strike a chord with the audiences.
The month ended on a high note with SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus, RRR setting the box office ablaze with a spectacular theatrical run. The film is very steady at the box office. It has crossed Rs. 180 cr in its first 10 days and is heading towards a lifetime number in the vicinity of Rs. 250 cr for the Hindi version alone. The RRR wave was so strong that it not only braved the competition it found from John Abraham’s Attack but managed to rake in second-weekend numbers which were five times as much as Attack’s first weekend numbers, and we are just talking about the Hindi version of RRR.
Here is the estimated nett collection of recently released Indian films at the box office along with the theatrical verdict:
Gangubai Kathiawadi – Rs. 124 cr
Hit
Jhund – Rs. 12 cr
Disaster
Radhe Shyam (Hindi) – Rs. 19 cr
Disaster
The Kashmir Files – Rs. 244 cr (17 days)
Blockbuster
Bachchhan Paandey – Rs. 48 cr
Disaster
RRR (Hindi) – Rs. 184 cr (10 days)
Super Hit
Attack – Rs. 10 cr (3 days)
Disaster (expected)