Director Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra is expected to pass the Rs 200 crore mark in the next few days, after hitting Rs 170 crore in India during its first week of release. The fantasy drama, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, made an estimated Rs 9.25 crore on day seven, according to a Bollywood Hungama report. This is the best first-week performance for a Hindi film this year.
The drops during the week, the report said, have been ‘on the higher side’. In addition to the Hindi version, Brahmastra was also released in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. The film has made approximately Rs 20 crore in the South Indian language versions, which were presented by RRR director SS Rajamouli.
Brahmastra is reportedly performing like a Marvel superhero movie, meaning that it will attract the majority of its audience over the weekends, while the weekdays are going to witness slumps. Multiplex audiences are still the primary demographic for the film, which is slipping when it comes to single screen crowds.
Brahmastra will pass Kartik Aaryan’s horror comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (Rs 221 crore) in the next couple of days to emerge as the year’s second-biggest Hindi film, behind only the controversial The Kashmir Files (nearly Rs 300 crore). But while both The Kashmir Files and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 were made on significantly smaller budgets, Brahmastra was reportedly produced for Rs 410 crore. The breakeven point is even bigger, of course, which means that the film will have to rely on ancilliary revenue to generate a profit. Currently, the film is pacing to finish with around Rs 250 crore in the domestic market. The film is expected to pass the Rs 100 crore mark in overseas markets by the end of its second weekend, according to Pinkvilla.
The film arrived in the wake of sustained online protests against Ranbir, and carried the burden of injecting hope into the industry. This has been a particularly difficult year for Hindi films, with only three clear hits at the box office.
Critical and fan response to Brahmastra has been rather mixed, with many appreciating the scope but faulting the writing. Mukerji has said that he will soon begin work on the second instalment, titled Brahmastra Part Two: Dev. He also spoke to indianexpress.com about fleshing out the Astraverse with spinoffs. Brahmastra also stars Amitabh Bachchan, Mouni Roy, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Dimple Kapadia, and features Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in supporting roles.