Akshay Kumar's much awaited action adventure film, Ram Setu, co-starring Satyadev, Jacqueline Fernandez and Nushrratt Bharuccha, released in theatres on the occasion of Diwali. The film marked Akshay Kumar's 4th theatrical release of 2022 after Bachchhan Paandey, Samrat Prithviraj and Raksha Bandhan and fifth overall, with the addition of Cuttputlli. It locked horns with Ajay Devgn, Sidharth Malhotra and Rakul Preet led comedy Drama directed by Indra Kumar, Thank God. Both films released on the biggest ticketing day of the year, the Govardhan Pooja day. Both the films entered the Govardhan Pooja day with very poor advance bookings but secured good movement in terms of bookings, in the course of the day.
Ram Setu mustered an opening between Rs. 14.5 cr and 15.25 cr nett for the first day. The numbers are the highest for Akshay Kumar in the year 2022 and the second highest for a Hindi film in 2022, only behind Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva. The 3 multipexes contributed Rs. 6.44 crore nett, comfrotably more than its competiton, Thank God. These numbers, however, are no consolation, given that the film had an extensive release on Govardhan Pooja and had way more potential than what it ended up getting. The film has to hold well over the next few days, to reach a respectible total, which seems like an uphill task considering it is a midweek release. The data from overseas suggests that it is a very low opening day, more on the lines of Bachchhan Paandey and Samrat Prithviraj, both of which failed to make a mark internationally.
The Hindi films have had an occupancy of around 25-35% and it is the lowest occupancy in years, for the post Diwali day, if we exclude 2020, which was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. With a combined nett of around Rs. 23 - 24 cr nett for the two Bollywood films, it can be said that both films have some work to be done.
You can watch Ram Setu at a theatre near you.
