Box Office: Shehzada battles it out with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Pathaan

Kartik Aaryan in a still from the just-released 'Shehzada'.

It's turning out to be a major battle at the box office, what with the new release Shehzada taking on competition from the likes of Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan. It's a known fact that Pathaan, which is an established film after being in theatres for over three weeks, is an all-time blockbuster and is still drawing audiences. On the other hand Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a Marvel offer and such is the power of this superhero franchise that an initial audience always comes in regardless of the character.

Hence, Kartik Aaryan's Shehzada had a job in hand to make a place for itself and grab audience attention. When the promo of the film arrived, it gave clear indications of, at least, a double-digit opening. It seemed apparent that the first-day numbers would be in excess of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 opening of Rs 14.11 crore. As the film was supposed to release last Friday, it would also have benefitted from Valentine’s Day owing to Aaryan's immense following among the youth, especially teenaged girls.

However, things changed in the last couple of weeks, when Pathaan turned out to be a force to reckon with. The film was gaining from strength to strength with every passing day, so much so that, last week, it was close to Rs 50 crore while, this week, the film has started rather well at the box office. In the process, Shehzada did lose out on a few crores of rupees which it otherwise would have gained, considering the fact that it's a clean family entertainer and does carry good enough merits to find audiences among the masses.

The film's first-day collections stood at Rs 7 crore. The Rohit Dhawan-directed film needs to get into a double-digit score. Post the weekend, it would all boil down to word of mouth.

As for the other new release, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it has taken a good start at Rs 8.25 crore* after seeing a targeted release in almost all premium screens that generate maximum moolah. Till Thursday, Pathaan was the one benefitting from all the IMAX and 4DX screens, but now they have gone to the Marvel film and this is where the film is also enjoying maximum occupancy.

The franchise's stranglehold over Indian audiences can well be seen from the fact that the last installment of this franchise, Ant Man And The Wasp, had taken an opening of Rs 5.5 crore and then went on to enjoy a weekend of Rs 19.25 crore before closing on the lifetime of Rs 34.22 crore. Now the newest installment Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has started much better at Rs 8.25 crore* and the manner in which it has been doing, it won't be too surprising if it crosses Rs 34.22 crore over the weekend itself. If not, then by Monday it will certainly do that.

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan is continuing its all-time mega blockbuster run. Even on its fourth Friday, the film was not slowing down as it collected Rs 2.25 crore. Just like the other two films, it too saw the collections being impacted by the competition around it. That said, its screens also got reduced drastically, though that situation is being taken care of from today onwards as additional screens/shows are under way.

The film has already collected Rs 508.10 crore and, as you read this, the lifetime collections of the Hindi version of Baahubali: The Conclusion (Rs 511 crore) would have been crossed. That said, Rs 508.10 crore scored so far by Pathaan also included contribution of Rs 17.75 crore from the south versions. Hence, from apples to apples comparison perspective, it's the Hindi version of Pathaan which is chasing Baahubali: The Conclusion (Rs 511 crore) and even that would happen eventually by next Sunday, if not by Thursday itself.

*Estimates. Final numbers awaited

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources