Box office: Sooryavanshi records Akshay Kumar’s highest opening weekend tally

After amassing Rs26 crore and Rs24 crore nett in its first two days in cinemas, Rohit Shetty’s Sooryavanshi (2021) was expected to continue its good run on Sunday and that is exactly what happened. The Akshay Kumar-starrer made Rs27.50 crore nett on the day, according to trade website BoxOfficeIndia.com.

Sooryavanshi’s grand total now stands at an impressive Rs77.50 crore nett in the first three days, breaking the record for highest opening weekend tally for an Akshay Kumar film by a big margin. The previous best was scored by Mission Mangal (2019), which had collected Rs67.13 crore nett in its first three days in cinemas, that too at a time when no one had even heard of COVID-19.

Sooryavanshi's achievement is all the more creditable given that several states, including Maharashtra, the highest revenue generator for Hindi films, currently allow only 50% occupancy in theatres.

Sooryavanshi is also the first big-budget Hindi film to be released after theatres reopened throughout the country following the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, the film industry's hopes for a quick revival are riding on this film.

According to trade sources, Sooryavanshi has been made on a budget of Rs150 crore. Hence, the film will need to do well throughout the week.

Correction, 9 November 2021: An earlier version of this report put Sunday's collection at Rs23.25 crore. The figure has been updated to Rs27.50 crore.