It is advantage Rustom over Mohenjo Daro on day one with the Akshay Kumar-starrer taking a better opening at the box office over Hrithik Roshan’s period drama in the first big-ticket clash of 2016.
The Khiladi’s thriller released across 2,300 screens in India, about 400 less than its competitor, but managed to pull in more crowds. The film is also enjoying a good, if not outstanding, word-of-mouth and the collections are expected to soar over the weekend and Monday, which coincides with Independence Day — a national holiday.
Trade pundit Vishekh Chauhan said, “Rustom has emerged as the clear winner. It is leading across India, barring a few pockets in South India. Places like Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad have warmed up to Mohenjo Daro. If you consider the average occupancy rate, Akshay’s film had an edge of 15-20 per cent over Hrithik’s. The lifetime collection difference is expected to be Rs 20-30 crore.”
The Hrithik-starrer managed to bag more screens given a three-film agreement between producers, UTV, and single screen theatre owners. The deal covers Baaghi, which released last April, Mohenjo Daro and Dangal in December. “As a result, a bulk of single screens is exclusively showcasing Mohenjo Daro because they want Dangal, a solo release. They don’t mind forsaking Akshay Kumar for Aamir Khan,” Chauhan added.
Trade expert Amod Mehra, who watched Mohenjo Daro’s 9.15 am show at a Juhu multiplex with barely eight others in the audience, said, “The opening was highly disappointing as opposed to an encouraging start by Rustom.” Putting it in figures, box office analyst Komal Nahta said, “Rustom witnessed an occupancy rate of 60-65 per cent. Mohenjo Daro attracted half of that.”
Trade-smith Girish Wankhede echoed the sentiment: “Footfalls for Mohenjo Daro will remain more or less constant over the weekend since the word-of-mouth isn’t good. However, in case of Rustom, it will go up to at least 70-75 per cent.” Exhibitor-distributor Akshaye Rathi said while Rustom had a significant advantage, Hrithik, being a favourite in urban centres, could hope for his film’s collections to improve as the day progressed. “For opening day figures, we might be looking at R13-14 crore for Rustom and R9 crore for Mohenjo Daro, because the merit of the content will make all the difference,” he added.