Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif starrer 'Sooryavanshi' has impressed everyone with not just its action but also the box office numbers. The film which got delayed owing to COVID-19 lockdown last year finally hit theatres on November 5. It released on more than 3,000 screens across India and clocked Rs 77 crore in its opening weekend. Even though the mega film released during the Diwali weekend to mixed critical reviews, it was lapped up by the masses. In a video announcement on Monday, producers of "Sooryavanshi" said that the worldwide box office figures of the film stood at Rs 101.66 crore. This has raised expectations for the box office report of day 4 which is expected to go to Rs. 12.75 to 13 cr making the total to Rs. 90 crore.
The announcement of the film's first weekend collection was made by trade analyst Taran Adarsh on his Twitter handle where he wrote, "#Sooryavanshi brings joy, hope, confidence, optimism back… Emerges a #Diwali gift for the industry… RUNS RIOT at #BO on Day 3… Proves *yet again*: Well-made entertainers will NEVER go out of fashion... Fri 26.29 cr, Sat 23.85 cr, Sun 26.94 cr. Total: ₹ 77.08 cr. #India biz."
"Sooryavanshi" makers waited for nearly 18 months for the movie's release, which was originally slated to arrive in theatres in March last year but the pandemic led to an unprecedented shutdown of cinema halls everywhere. Interestingly, it is performing expcetionally well according to various exhibitors. According to the online ticket booking platform BookMyShow, "Sooryavanshi" crossed 1.5 million tickets on its platform.
Raj Bansal, senior distributor and exhibitor, said he has been running packed shows of "Sooryavanshi" at his property Entertainment Paradise—a three-screen multiplex—in Jaipur. "The business is like nothing ever even happened. 'Sooryavanshi' has revived the industry. It was the right film to kickstart the revival. The opening has truly surprised us too because a key territory like Maharashtra is still running on limitations. "So this was not just any other weekend, it was a much-needed breather for the industry," Bansal added.
Exhibitor Sunny Chandaramani, who has nearly 20 single screen cinemas in Pune, told PTI that the box office collections of these films prove that tentpole films are here to stay. "Looking at the collection of 'Sooryavanshi', it seems that the good-old-days are back. It shows that big films are able to draw audiences to theatres and also the fact that people were waiting to go to cinema halls," Chandaramani added.
'Sooryavanshi' is a continuation of the cop action 'Singham' universe, which began with the Ajay Devgn starrer 'Singam' and 'Singham Returns', then expanded with 'Simmba', starring Ranveer Singh and Devgn, and now is going forward with Akshay Kumar's character. Apart from Akshay, 'Sooryavanshi' also features Katrina Kaif in the lead role.
In 'Sooryavanshi' Akshay portrays the role of a DSP who fights crime. Katrina plays the role of Akshay's love interest in the film. The movie also features special cameos by Ajay Devgn (Singham) and Ranveer Singh (Simmba).
-With PTI inputs
