Main Atal Hoon has taken a surprisingly better start than expected at the box office.
One would have imagined the film to open in the Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh (Rs 2.5 million to Rs 5 million) range, but it has taken a start of around Rs 1.25 crore (Rs 12.5 million) with a weekend of around Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million). That's fair enough for the budget that it has been made in.
The film has seen good reviews, and may become Pankaj Tripathi's biggest solo grosser.
The Telugu film Hanu Man has become a hit in its Hindi dubbed version too.
In fact, it has done better than most of the south releases of 2023.
What makes this success even more remarkable is the fact that this one was made on the least budget as compared to other notable south releases that saw a Hindi dub last year, proving that a well made film always finds its audience.
With close to Rs 35 crore (Rs 350 million) in its kitty, the Prasanth Verma directorial is getting ready to score a half century at the box office.
The numbers will surely go ahead of Rs 44.09 crore (Rs 440.9 million) that KGF: Chapter One had scored in 2018. But it will fall short of the lifetime total of Kantara (Hindi), which was around Rs 85 crore (Rs 850 million).
Now, the sequel is all set to take a huge opening when it arrives in 2025.
Merry Christmas hasn't done well though. It collected only around Rs 17.50 crore (Rs 175 million) after its second weekend and short of the kind of numbers expected out of it.
Had this been a token theatrical release, it would be understandable, but then the producers Tips had given this Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi film a reasonably good release.
Though this Sriram Raghavan directorial is getting good reviews, its theatrical business will touch a maximum of Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million).
All eyes are now on Fighter which releases on Thursday. The Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor biggie has a lot riding on it and with the kind of track record that Director Siddharth Anand boasts of, a polished action film seems to be on the way.
The film should take a very good start at the box office in excess of Rs 30 crore (Rs 300 million) and may kick-start Bollywood's winning innings for 2024.
Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources.
