‘Dhurandhar’, the Aditya Dhar directorial, starring Ranveer Singh in the lead, has finally debuted on the big screen today. After months of waiting, fans wasted no time in rushing to theatres to catch the first day, first show and tweet all about it. Amid all the hype and drama surrounding the film, trade reports state that the film may just open to an average response at the box office. However, this was just by taking into consideration the film’s advance bookings which are estimated to be between Rs 15-20 crore net. Now, as per the latest reports online, the film seems to be picking up its pace at the box office, with trade reports showing a spike in numbers. As per sacnilk, the early shows have already collected around Rs 66 lakh, with numbers expected to rise further during the day. As per the latest reports, the film has sold over 2.55 lakh tickets across 14,549 shows in 2D format, playing at the national theatre chains. The IMAX 2D formats playing at top theatre chains in the country, have reported a collection of Rs 45.22 lakh for around 123 shows.The current data estimates that the film’s total advance collections now stand at an estimated Rs 9.23 crore from the sale of 2.62 lakh tickets sold across 14K shows in the country. It must be noted that these numbers are without blocked seats. Taking into account the blocked seats, the total advance booking collection has risen to an estimated Rs 14 crore.State-wise, Maharashtra continues to lead with the highest collection of Rs 3.02 crore in advance earnings with blocked seats. Delhi follows closely with Rs 2.98 crore. Karnataka and Gujarat follow with collections of Rs 1.41 crore and Rs 1.01 crore respectively. Uttar Pradesh rounds up the top 5 with an advance collection of Rs 79.39 lakh. Trade projections suggest that ‘Dhurandhar’ is likely to open in the Rs 15 crore to Rs 20 crore range on Friday. For a large-scale action entertainer, with a budget of a reported Rs 250 crore, the film will have a long way to go before it can register itself as a box office hit. To attain these numbers, the film would rely heavily on word-of-mouth to drive weekend growth and keep the footfall consistent all through the working week. With no holiday to back the film up, it will rely heavily on positive buzz and good content to help it go the distance at the box office. The current trend puts the film on par with the Dhanush and Kriti Sanon romantic-drama, ‘Tere Ishk Mein’ which opened to similar numbers at the box office last week. However, the film will have only 2 weeks to enjoy its run at the box office, before it faces added competition at the ticket windows, with the release of the Hollywood film ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’. The James Cameron film is already tracking a blockbuster opening in the country, considering that it is a part of a franchise release and already commands a huge fan base in the country.
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