Sriram Raghavan’s ambitious biographical war drama, Ikkis, has encountered a setback at the box office. After a decent opening on New Year’s Day, the movie, which marks the big-screen debut of Agastya Nanda and is the heartbreaking last performance of the late iconic star Dharmendra, experienced a steep 50% decrease in revenue on its second day.
Though the opening day reaped the advantages of the holiday mood, the figures of the first Friday imply that the film is finding it hard to resist the overwhelming “Dhurandhar” tide along with the usual post-holiday dip in the audience.
Ikkis Box Office Collection and the Friday Slump
The commercial path of Ikkis has taken an unexpected twist, as the film’s box office collection on Day 2 dropped to around ₹3.50 crore after a ₹7 crore opening. Thus, the total amount earned in India till now is ₹10.50 crore.
Even though the film has been praised unanimously by the critics for its delicate handling of 1971 war hero Arun Khetarpal, the funeral-like and heavy emotional nature of the film seems to be at odds with the tastes of a big public looking for a plain high-octane spectacle.
The transition from the holiday Thursday to a regular Friday resulted in a noticeable decline in occupancy rates, especially in the mass circuits where the competition from the long-running blockbusters is still very strong.
Agastya Nanda-Dharmendra War Film Performance Analysis
It is very clear from the analysis of the performance of the Agastya Nanda-Dharmendra war film that the movie is relying mostly on urban centers and word-of-mouth. Agastya Nanda has received criticism for his performance, although it was very warm and evenhanded, while the emotional aspect of seeing Dharmendra on screen for the last time has attracted a large older audience.
But at the same time, the film is confronted with a giant challenge from Ranveer Singh’s Dhurandhar, which continues to overpower the screens even if it is in its fifth week. To recover, it has to exhibit a tremendous boost over the weekend, the current trend being an indication of the movie’s plight in the Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, where it is not able to convert the critical acclaim into a high turnout of audience.
A recent media graduate, Bhumi Vashisht is currently making a significant contribution as a committed content writer. She brings new ideas to the media sector and is an expert at creating strategic content and captivating tales, having working in the field from past four months.
