Even as KGF Chapter 2, which opened on April 14, continues running successfully across the country, recently released Hindi films, Heropanti 2 and Runway 34, have failed to create an impact at the box office. They have brought in collections of only Rs 6.25-6.50 crore nett and Rs 3 crore nett, respectively.
Both Heropanti 2, starring Tiger Shroff, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Tara Sutaria, and Ajay Devgn’s Runway 34 released on Friday. The former is directed by Ahmed Khan and is the romantic action sequel to the 2014 film Heropanti. The other, directed by and starring Devgn, also features Amitabh Bachchan and Rakul Preet Singh. It is based on real incidents that took place at Cochin International Airport where a flight had a narrow escape after facing difficulties during landing due to bad weather.
According to Box Office India, Heropanti 2’s opening is the lowest ever for Shroff, despite bulk bookings at multiplexes before the release. However, some alleged that the makers had booked tickets in bulk themselves ahead of the release to project success. BOI opines that this type of film does not show “huge growth” post its first day. Even with the Eid holiday coming up, the film will therefore struggle to compete with KGF as both films have the same target audience.
On the other hand, Runway 34 too has opened to a poor reception in spite of its star cast. BOI states that this is the lowest opening for Devgn since Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge? (2010). However, Runway 34 is expected to perform better over the weekend.
Meanwhile, in the south, there were two major releases this week: Tamil film Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal and Chiranjeevi-starrer Acharya (Telugu).
Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal, starring Vijay Sethupathi, Nayanthara, and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, is helmed by Vignesh Shivan. The romantic comedy, which released on Thursday and explores polyamorous relationships, opened to mixed reviews. Speaking to Silverscreen India, Tirupur Subramaniam, president of the Tamil Nadu Theatres Association, said that the film is doing well at the box office. “The collection has been good over the last two days. The film is also holding an occupancy level of about 60-70%,” he added. According to The Times of India, the film collected close to Rs 7 crore in Tamil Nadu and around Rs 13 crore worldwide on its first day.
Acharya, which released on Friday, stars Chiranjeevi alongside his son Ram Charan and Pooja Hegde. It is written and directed by Koratala Siva and backed by Chiranjeevi’s home banner Konidela Production Company and Matinee Entertainments. The film opened to negative reviews.
It is to be noted that theatres in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were permitted to charge hiked ticket prices for Acharya, as it is a big-budget film.
Speaking to us, Anupam Reddy, Secretary of the Telangana State Film Chamber of Commerce, said, “While the actual box-office figures are yet to come, the film has been a disaster as far openings go.” He believes that the high ticket prices are one of the reasons why people were not ready to give the film a chance.
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Balgovind Raj Tadla, secretary of Greater Telangana Exhibitors Association and partner at Sudharshan 35mm and Devi 70mm single-screen theatres in Hyderabad, said, “The reception on the first day was fine, but a good amount of people were disappointed. Our concern is whether is it this film or the quick succession of big films in recent times – RRR, KGF, and now this – that have put them off. There is bound to be a subconscious rejection. It could be one of the reasons for Acharya being rejected by the audience.” He also agreed that the higher ticket prices could be another reason for the film’s backfire.
Tadla opined that Acharya will likely pick up over the weekend, and added, “In one review, a film journalist mentioned that the mining mafia story has been seen a lot. But, if it is entertaining, people will watch it again. This just didn’t strike a chord. However, we are happy with the string of content coming up. The bar has just been raised by consumers on the content they want to see.”