Box office: HanuMan (Hindi) flies past Rs 25 crore; Main Atal Hoon surprises with Day 1 take of Rs 1.25 crore

HanuMan released in theatres on January 12.

HanuMan has turned out to be a success in the Hindi version as well. While the original south version is a hit, in Hindi the film is performing better than most Hindi-dubbed/remade-in-Hindi south releases that had arrived in theatres in 2023 and failed to leave a mark at the box office. What makes this success all the more remarkable is that this film was made on a smaller budget compared to other notable south releases that arrived in the Hindi version last year.

With Rs 25 crore already in its kitty, the film is gearing up well to eventually score a half-century at the box office. At this rate, it will likely overtake KGF: Chapter One (Hindi), which earned Rs 45 crore back in 2018, though it would fall short of the lifetime total of Kantara (Hindi) which was around Rs 85 crore.

Still, the Prasanth Verma-directed film has done its job and now the sequel is all set to take a huge opening when it arrives in 2025. The stage has been set for the next instalment of this modern-day take interspersed with religious/mythological elements and from this point on, it's all about staying in the news right through next couple of years and build on the hype, something that Pushpa has done so successfully.

Meanwhile, new release Main Atal Hoon has actually taken a surprisingly better start than expected. One would have imagined the film to open in the Rs 25-50 lakh range but it has taken a start of around Rs 1.25 crore, which is good for the budget that it has been made on. If it eventually goes past a lifetime total of Rs 10 crore, it could be the biggest solo grosser of Pankaj Tripathi.

All eyes are now on Fighter which releases on Thursday (January 25, 2024). The Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor starrer has a lot riding on it and with the kind of track record that Siddharth Anand boasts of as a director, a polished action film seems to be on the way. The film should take a very good start at the box office and with the promo doing the trick, hopefully it would emerge as a big hit at the box office and kickstart the winning run for Bollywood.

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources