Akshay Kumar and the makers of Pad Man left no stone unturned to promote the film. Given the hype around it, one would have expected Pad Man to have a good opening. However, the social drama could only earn around Rs10 crore nett on its opening day, as reported by BoxOfficeIndia.com. Though, this is not a bad number to open with, the film could have done better.
Pad Man review: Over-explanation stops extraordinary tale from becoming brilliant film
Akshay’s last film Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017) had a slightly better opening, earning Rs11.34 crore nett. The film, though, was released across 2,950 screens, and as per trade sources, Pad Man is said to have released in around 2,750 screens in India.
The estimated budget of Pad Man is around Rs70 crore. As per sources, the film has already made around Rs50 crore through the sale of satellite, digital and music rights.
Meanwhile, with Pad Man coming in, the earnings of Padmaavat, that released on 25 January, was expected to drop on is third Friday (9 February). Compared to Thursday (8 February), earnings of the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film dropped by Rs1.25 crore nett as its third Friday collection stood at Rs3.50 crore nett. Padmaavat has so far made Rs227.72 crore nett in domestic business.
Over the next week, Pad Man’s business could dwindle if Padmaavat is released in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where the film still continues to face opposition from the Shri Rajput Karni Sena.
Come next Friday (16 February) Pad Man will have to compete with two new releases – Neeraj Pandey’s Aiyaary and the Hollywood film Black Panther. Thus, it is imperative that the film picks up pace in its first weekend.