It was a slow Friday again at the box office, as new release Nikamma struggled to lift off. The family action drama starring Abhimanyu Dassani, Shirley Setia and Shilpa Shetty enticed audiences primarily at some single screens in the interiors but couldn't really shake things up at a pan-India level. Not that this was very likely to happen, but the film was expected to do better in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar. The film is designed as a massy entertainer with raw action and that could have gone in its favour. The film made Rs 51 lakh on Day 1.
Last week's release Janhit Mein Jaari hasn't created any waves either, with the collections standing at around Rs 3.5 crore as of June 17. Had the Nushrat Bharucha starrer released directly on OTT, the visibility and hype could have been better. With some luck, the film should manage to cross the Rs 5 crore mark.
Another release from the past which is fighting it out after its stay in theatres for two weeks now is Major [Hindi]. While the Telugu version of the film had already started turning a profit for the filmmakers, the Hindi box office collections are an added bonus. The film in Hindi managed to go past the Rs 10 crore mark by the close of the second week and has now brought in some collections on the third Friday as well. Standing at Rs 10.95 crore, the film has seen a sweet little run - it will have another week to set the cash registers ringing before JugJugg Jeeyo releases on June 24, 2022.
Hollywood release Jurassic World: Dominion managed to cross the Rs 50 crore mark in India on its second Friday - business for this film started out well, but then slowed down. The film is expected to make Rs 75 crore at the Indian box office - though a potential entry into the 100 Crore Club would have been fantastic. However, these are post-pandemic times, and filmmakers must make their peace with what comes their way.
Also read: Abhimanyu Dassani: "'Nikamma' has more stylised action. It’s not kick-punch-punch-kick"
The same could be said for Yash Raj Films which has now seen its biggest commercial disappointment ever in the form of Samrat Prithviraj. The film, even in the worst-case scenario, should have done over Rs 150 crore of business - as things stand, it's fared worse than the production house's last big disaster: Thugs of Hindostan. Akshay Kumar starrer Samrat Prithviraj has made Rs 67 crore at the box office till date and analysts say it could fold well under the Rs 75 crore mark. These are definitely not the kind of numbers expected from a film of this scale, size and hype.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 is continuing to gain from strength to strength - earnings at the box office currently stand at Rs 177.29 crore. The film is making the best use of no real competition from any Hindi release and has stayed as a one horse race ever since its release four weeks back. Now in its fifth week, the Kartik Aaryan starrer is continuing its blockbuster run with daily collections steadily breaching the Rs 1 crore mark. With an open week ahead of it, the film may now surpass Bang Bang [Rs 181 crore], Bajirao Mastani [Rs 188 crore] and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani [Rs 188.92 crore] in lifetime earnings. One factor that could put the brakes on for the runaway hit: it's dropping on Netflix tomorrow.
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