If an Akshay Kumar film is getting released in theatres, it is bound to attract audiences. The mass star has been the ray of hope post-pandemic, with his films Bell Bottom and Sooryavanshi bringing relief to theatre owners. And now, his latest release Bachchan Pandey too continued the streak. Despite lesser than usual screen count and stiff competition from Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files, the film managed to mint over Rs 13.25 crores on its opening day.
Bachchan Pandey collected 13.25 crores INR on Day 1. According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the major contributors were Mumbai and Gujarat. The numbers are good, especially because there were only afternoon shows due to Holi, and fewer screen counts due to The Kashmir Files. The competition from the Vivek Agnihotri film is also massive. Moreover, given the collections, the film should show an upward trend on Saturday and Sunday.
Bachchan Pandey also became the second-highest opener at the box-office post-pandemic, second only to Sooryavanshi. Yes, Akshay Kumar competes with himself. But while Sooryavanshi managed a good 26.29 crores INR on its opening day, Bachchan Pandey only managed to pocket approximately half its collection. The film collected more than Kabir Khan’s ’83, which was released on Christmas, and Alia Bhatt starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi, which collected 12.64 crores INR and 10.50 crores INR respectively.
Bachchan Pandey is helmed by Farhad Samji and is produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. It is a remake of the 2014 Tamil film, Jigarthanda. The film has Akshay Kumar playing a ruthless gangster, and also stars Kriti Sanon, who plays an aspiring filmmaker and Jacqueline Fernandez, who plays Bachchan Pandey’s girlfriend. The film also stars Arshad Warsi, Pankaj Tripathi, Prateik Babbar, Abhimanyu Singh, Snehal Daabbi and Saharsh Kumar Shukla in pivotal roles.
