In the box office clash at the movies this week, comedy drama Pati Patni Aur Woh has clearly stolen a march over period drama Panipat by collecting around Rs. 34 crore over three days compared to the latter’s Rs. 18 crore, according to Box Office India estimates.
“Pati Patni Aur Woh hits the bull’s eye. Witnesses all-round growth on day two. Wins over youngsters as well as family audiences, metros as well as mass markets,” trade analyst Taran Adarsh had tweeted earlier.
“Panipat records low numbers on day one. Reports (word-of-mouth) are positive and its business, hopefully, should see a turnaround on day two and three. Showcasing at multiplexes affected due to excessive run time (close to 3 hours),” he added.
Box Office India said the weekend earnings of Pati Patni Aur Woh were better than lead actor Kartik Aaryan’s last release, Luka Chuppi that had made Rs. 32.09 crore over three days. The older film, had however, shown higher growth on Sunday in territories like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan whereas Aaryan’s latest release is not really doing as great business in small towns and mass centres. Collections Monday onwards will give a real picture of whether the film can emerge as a hit in the long run.
Ashutosh Gowariker’s Panipat, continued its unimpressive run over the weekend after starting slow on Friday. Box Office India said the film’s narrative centered on the Maratha Empire may find some takers in Maharashtra but that is hardly going to be enough. The Arjun Kapoor, Kriti Sanon and Sanjay Dutt-starrer is a complete washout especially in north India, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and east Punjab. Collections are slightly better in Mumbai and Andhra Pradesh but not nearly good enough.
The low figures compared to Pati Patni Aur Woh become even more glaring given that the former is a much bigger film in terms of cost and scale.
“Pati Patni Aur Woh is excellent on day one. This, despite competing with another biggie (Panipat), which resulted in screens/shows getting divided,” Adarsh had tweeted adding that the Mudassar Aziz directed comedy drama is Aaryan’s biggest opener till date, beating not just Luka Chuppi (Rs. 32.09 crore) but also Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 (Rs. 21.54 crore), Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (Rs. 25.83 crore) and Pyaar Ka Punchnama (Rs. 3.23 crore).
