Box office: Collection slides further for Thugs Of Hindostan; 4-day total Rs117.50 crore nett

After setting a record opening of Rs50.75 crore nett, Thugs Of Hindostan’s fortunes have headed downward.

The collection dropped by 45% on day 2, and the film has continued to slide despite the extended four-day weekend.

The box-office collection of the action adventure film starring Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Shaikh dropped to Rs16.75 crore nett on Sunday, taking its four-day total to Rs117.50 crore nett.

Directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, Thugs Of Hindostan is a period film set in the 18th century during the British Raj. Unable to capture the rebel Khudabaksh (Amitabh Bachchan), deemed a pirate, the British hire a thug named Firangee (Aamir Khan).

Most producers would have welcomed the extended weekend business of the Thugs, but the trouble for the film is its estimated budget of Rs300 crore.

The downward slide does not augur well for the film's business. Panned by critics and audiences alike, the Thugs are staring down the barrel.

The drop in the film's collection on the second day was 45% when it made Rs28 crore nett. The slide continued on day 3 where it made Rs22.75 crore, and a further near 30% drop on Sunday saw it collect just Rs16.75 crore nett.

Thugs Of Hindostan was released on 5,000 screens across India in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

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In the overseas market, the film got 2,000 screens, but the business so far has not been encouraging. Producer Yash Raj Films, which distributes its films both domestically and internationally, collected $5.75 million (approximately Rs41 crore at the current exchange rate) in its extended weekend.

Salman Khan’s Race 3 (2018), which also underperformed at the box office, had made $7.75 million (approximately Rs56.82 crore) in its first weekend overseas business.

The top opening overseas grosser of 2018 is Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat (2018), which made $10.59 million (approximately Rs77 crore), followed by Race 3 (2018), and Sanju with $7.2 million (approximately Rs56.31 crore).

The Thugs Of Hindostan is likely to struggle further in its theatrical business. It has, however, recovered much of its cost of production through the sale of ancillary rights.

As per trade sources, Yash Raj Films bagged around Rs110 crore for satellite (Sony Entertainment Television) and digital rights (Amazon Prime Video). The marquee production house is said to have sold the film to Chinese distributor Estars Films for release in China for over $15 million (approximately Rs109 crore). With this, the production house has recovered around Rs220 crore in satellite, digital and China distribution rights.

With the film having already made Rs117.50 crore nett in domestic business and a gross collection of Rs41 crore in the overseas market, Yash Raj Films has recovered its estimated cost of production.