‘Dabangg 3’ opens dull amid nationwide CAA protests

New Delhi: Salman Khan’s action comedy Dabangg 3 has grossed ₹44.50 crore in the first two days after release, as its business has been impacted by the ongoing protests and violence across the country against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

“Dabangg 3 hits the ₹20 crore plus mark on day one thanks largely to Salman Khan’s star power. Day one business would’ve easily been much, much higher had it not been for the protests. Resultantly, business kept fluctuating throughout the day. A substantial sum was lost due to this reason,” trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted.

Trade website Box Office India said the Prabhu Deva directed film is likely to lose around ₹12-15 crore in its opening weekend and the film will find it hard to make up for the loss, given that the protests do not show much signs of abating and the fact that there is a big Bollywood release next week - comedy drama Good Newwz.

The film co-starring south superstar Kichha Sudeep as the antagonist has also been dubbed in regional languages but none of these versions are doing well either. Having opened mostly to negative reviews, the film has mostly been lapped up by audiences in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh (UP), and ironically, UP that has been the worst hit by the violence.