The Hindi box office saw a rare picture yesterday as both Reema Kagti’s Gold and Milap Milan Zaveri’s Satyameva Jayate did well at the box office on their opening day yesterday (15 August). Gold, starring Akshay Kumar made Rs25.25 crore, while Satyameva Jayate, starring John Abraham, earned Rs18.50 crore, as per figures shared by Boxofficeindia.com.
Akshay has been on a roll for last few years. Barring Pad Man (2017), he has given a series of hits with Airlift (2016), Housefull 3 (2016), Rustom (2016), Jolly LLB 2 (2017) and Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017). Gold looks no different. The positive word-of-mouth has helped the film become the third highest opener of 2018, after Sanju (Rs34.19 crore) and Race 3 (Rs27.69 crore). The film is also Akshay's biggest opener so far. His previous best was Singh Is Bliing (2015) that earned Rs16.98 crore on its first day.
As per trade sources, Gold is made at a cost of Rs90-100 crore. Going by the film's box office performance so far, the high budget doesn’t seem like a problem.
Gold was expected to open big. But to see Satyameva Jayate also triumphing on the first day is a surprise. The film has become the fifth highest opener of the year.
Satyameva Jayate is easily John’s highest opener with the previous best being Race 2 (2013) that made Rs14.38 crore on day one. But if we look at the opening day numbers of John’s solo releases, the amount earned by Satyameva Jayate is huge. His previous opening day best as a solo hero was Force 2 (2016) which opened with Rs5.65 crore.
Satyameva Jayate is made at an estimated budget of Rs40-50 crore. The film has a good chance of earning well at the box office. However, it will all depend on whether it sustains till the end of the weekend.