Kesari box office day 3: Akshay Kumar film earns Rs 78 cr despite IPL\, is highest...

Kesari box office day 3: Akshay Kumar film earns Rs 78 cr despite IPL, is highest opening weekend earner of 2019

Kesari box office day 3: Akshay Kumar film has outrun Gully Boy and Total Dhamaal to emerge as the highest weekend opener of 2019. The film has earned Rs 78.07 crore in four days.

bollywood Updated: Mar 25, 2019 12:34 IST
Kesrai box office day 3: Akshay Kumar film earned Rs 78.07 crore despite IPL 2019.

Akshay Kumar’s Holi release Kesari is sprinting towards Rs 100 crore club after the first weekend. The film released on Thursday and has made an estimated Rs 78.07 crore in four days and is now expected to hold its own during the week.

The film, based on Battle of Saragarhi that is considered one of the world’s greatest last-stands, has found favour with the audience. “#Kesari benchmarks... Highest *Day 1* of 2019 [so far]: ₹ 21.06 cr Crossed ₹ 50 cr: Day 3 Crossed ₹ 75 cr: Day 4 Highest opening weekend of 2019 [so far]: ₹ 78.07 cr [4 days; Thu-Sun] India biz.,” wrote trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

The film is within a whistling distance of Rs 100 crore and a lot will depend on how it does during the week. The report said that while mass circuits such as Gujarat, Bihar and Rajasthan have been bullish, multiplexes have been comparatively muted. Adarsh wrote that the film may have been affected by IPL 2019 on Saturday and Sunday. “Section of the industry feels #IPL2019 curtailed the growth of Kesari on Sat [evening] and Sun... Two days that could’ve made a biggg difference to the *extended* weekend total... Weekdays pivotal... Strong numbers and solid trending [Mon-Thu] are a must,” he wrote.

Adarsh earlier tweeted, “#Kesari shows an upward trend on Day 3 [Sat]... Metros pick up, mass circuits good... Big Day 4 [Sun] on the cards... Eyes ₹ 80 cr [+/-] *extended* weekend... Thu 21.06 cr, Fri 16.70 cr, Sat 18.75 cr. Total: ₹ 56.51 cr. India biz.”

Also read: Kesari movie review

With this, his earlier prediction that Kesari will outdo Gully Boy and Total Dhamaal has also come true. “Kesari aims at No. 1 spot as far as *opening weekend* is concerned... Trending better than #GullyBoy and #TotalDhamaal... Will surpass *extended weekend* [Thu-Sun] of #GullyBoy [₹ 72.45 cr] as well as *traditional weekend* [Fri-Sun] of #TotalDhamaal [₹ 62.40 cr].”

Kesari is also doing better than Akshay’s last release, Gold. The film had made Rs 71.30 crore in an extended five-day weekend.

First Published: Mar 25, 2019 12:32 IST