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Ajith Kumar’s Valimai, Pawan Kalyan’s Bheemla Nayak and Alia Bhatt’s Gangubai Kathiawadi have brought cheers to film exhibitors.
The three films not just witnessed a spectacular box office opening, but also set a new precedent for non-holiday releases by pulling a large number of people back to cinema halls.
Record collections
According to movie critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi, which hit the screens on Friday, recorded the third highest Day 1 collections among Bollywood films released during the pandemic.
Gangubai’s day one net box office collection stood at ₹10.50 crore, only below Ranveer Singh’s 83The Film (₹12.64 crore) and Akshay Kumar’’s Diwali release Sooryavanshi (₹26.29 crore).
The record collection comes despite theatres in key Bollywood markets — Delhi and Maharashtra — operating at 50 per cent capacity.
Down South, it is Valimai and Bheemla Nayak that are setting the box office on fire. Both the films hit the big screen on Thursday.
Revenge watching
According to Box Office India, Valimai recorded the highest ever net box office collection in Tamil Nadu at ₹25 crore on Day 1. It was even higher than Rajinikanth’s Diwali release Annaatthe (₹24 crore). Produced by Boney Kapoor and Zee Studios, Valimai also released in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada and had a pan-India net collection of around ₹30 crore.
Similarly, Bheemla Nayak — an official Telugu remake of Malayalam film Ayyappanum Koshiyum — grossed ₹37.3 crore in Day One collection from Telugu States alone.
The film also breached the $1-million club in the US market, according to trade reports.
Pent-up demand
“Films attracting audiences in such big numbers, that too on a non-holiday occasion, is a clear sign that there is a huge pent-up demand for movie watching and people’s craving for an out-of-home entertainment,” said Kamal Gianchandani, President, Multiplex Association of India.
It’s good news for films like Jhund, Bachchan Pandey, Radhe Shyam, RRR, and The Batman that are lined up for release this year.
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