Ajay Devgn-starrer Tanhaji: The Unsung Hero has had a good weekend, earning Rs 59.75 crore, according to a report by BoxOfficeIndia.com. Deepika Padukone-starrer Chhapaak, had a much lower first weekend, with Rs 18 crore in three days.
Thanks to the politicisation of the two films, certain reports have been raving about Tanhaji’s opening numbers vis a vis Chhapaak. But based purely on the figures, the comparison is a false one.
‘Tanhaji’ has been made at a steep budget of Rs 150 crore plus, thanks to all the elaborate sets, action and VFX. So to emerge profitable and not even a hit, the film will have to continue to stay steady over the whole week and the second weekend and also make at least Rs 200 crore at the box office to be declared a hit.
Tanhaji earned Rs 14.50 crore on the first day and ended the weekend on a strong note by making Rs 19.75 crore on Saturday and a whopping Rs 25.50 crore on Sunday. The film, was especially strong in Maharashtra, as it tells the story of Tanaji Malusre, a Maratha warrior. Plus, the film was also released in Marathi (dubbed) too.
Chhapaak, based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal, made Rs 4.5 crore on the opening day. The figures saw an upward trend on Saturday (Rs 6.5 crore) and Sunday (Rs 7 crore).
At the moment, the momentum for the Devgn film is very good. But for a multi-starrer high-budget patriotic period film like Tanhaji, with big male star like Ajay in the lead and over 3000 screens in its kitty, this is the bare minimum business expected.
And there can’t even be a comparison with Chhapaak, which has been released in less than half the number of screens (around 1200) as Tanhaji.
‘Chhapaak’ is a serious film on the socially relevant subject of acid attack survivors, led by a female actor and no big male star, catering to a limited audience in urban centres, and has been made at a much lower budget of around Rs 30 crore.
So in that sense Chhapaak and Tanhaji aren’t really competition for each other.
Chhapaak’s opening weekend collections are decent, though not strong. The first Monday will be crucial, and it is then that we will be able to gauge if the film will manage to make profits in the long run. At the moment it is difficult to say how far the film will go.
But as of now, Chhapaak has already recovered more than half of its financial investment, while Tanhaji is yet to recover even half of its cost of production.
Tanhaji will have to make a minimum of Rs 150 crore for it to start making any money at the box office, while Chhapaak has to make around Rs 30 crore.
With no big films releasing till 24 January, when Varun Dhawan-Shraddha Kapoor’s Street Dancer and Kangana Ranaut’s Panga hit the screens, both the films have a free two week run in theatres. And this should benefit both in being able to at least recover their costs.
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