The much-awaited film Kalki 2898 AD thankfully has emerged as a success at the box office. It had a huge four-day weekend of Rs. 112.15 crores, with Sunday collections amounting to a huge Rs. 40.15 crores. It held strongly on Monday (Rs. 16.50 crores) which made it clear that it is set for a long, huge run.
Trade veteran Taran Adarsh said, “The collections have been fantastic. It is rocking at the box office in East, West, North and of course South! It was meant to open well and was expected also. Many said ‘Trailer jama nahin hai. Film kaise khulegi?’. Some even drew parallels with Ganapath (2023) since that was also a film set in the future. Lekin kahan Ganapath aur kahan Kalki 2898 AD! They further speculated that the film will see a big drop on Monday. Lekin sabhi ke zubaan pe ek baar phir taale lag gaye hai! One can say what they want to but collections are the ultimate authority.”
He continued, “The first day was superb. The second day, like the first, was also a working day. There should have been a decline but that didn’t happen. Saturday’s collections were impacted in the evening due to the match. But on Sunday, the film hit the ball out of the stadium.”
Girish Johar, producer and film business analyst, remarked, “It’s a fantastic feeling not just for fans but even the industry is in a very joyous mood. It was a non-holiday weekend and yet, it is clocking Rs. 100 crores in four days”
Explaining what went in favour of the film, he replied, “The attempt to keep the story under wraps did create a lot of intrigue. The first trailer didn’t give much idea but the expectations rose with the second trailer. The world that Nag Ashwin built was a major factor. Secondly, to envisage how our God will be born in the future is a never-before-seen concept. Nag brought it out very beautifully.”
Taran Adarsh added on the VFX aspect, “The producers must have spent a fraction of what Hollywood spends. Yet, the quality is top-notch. Viewers often complain that ‘Hamari films mein toh visual effects tacky hota hai ya video game jaisa hota hai’. But here, it was very well integrated with the narrative and didn’t look forced.”
Girish Johar also said that viewers got more than they had hoped for, “No one was expecting outstanding work from Amitabh Bachchan. People assumed that he’ll be having a supporting role. But his performance is fantastic. The younger moviegoers, who have not followed his work, now have experienced his enigma. It’s a mammoth golden feather in his cap. All these factors worked in its favour despite no music and fewer promotions.”
Taran Adarsh also stated, “The film has worked in totality. Often, we find faults in a film. But the audience wants an entertainment package. This film offers that and also a huge star cast, which was evident from the poster. The film also rests on a gripping second half.”
He further said, “It is doing well not just in metros but also in smaller towns and that calls for a celebration. The cinema industry has been bleeding and the majority of our filmmakers are making films targeted at metros. As a result, the single-screen cinemas were feeling the heat. The Hindi film industry was releasing urban films but not many people were coming in. Thankfully, with Kalki 2898 AD, the audience is back, which is a very good sign.”
Girish Johar agreed, “The Hindi market once again has come back to life thanks to Kalki 2898 AD.”
Talking of B and C Centres, Kiritbhai T Vaghasia, who runs The Friday Cinema multiplex in Surat, said, “The response in my theatre is mixed. Until the intermission, the audience is quite restless. But after the film ends, the viewers say that it’s a decent, one-time watch. They are not wowed by it like they were with KGF - Chapter 2, Pushpa etc. Some also complained of an overdose of VFX.”
But he confessed that there indeed is a tremendous curiosity for the film, which is why he replaced shows of the holdover Gujarati films with that of Kalki 2898 AD for a day. He said, “On Saturday, the collections were huge and we started getting bookings for Sunday as well. Hence, I got permission from the distributor and discontinued Trisha On The Rocks and Jhamkudi. So, on Sunday, I played Kalki 2898 AD in all three screens of my theatre. In all, I ran 14 shows. The ticket sales were encouraging.”
On this Taran Adarsh said, “If this film was weak, then cracks would have appeared on the first day itself and on the second half, it would have collapsed. It’s a feat that your Friday number is as good as your Thursday number. It had a four-day weekend out of which two were working days.”
Lifetime predictions When asked if Kalki 2898 AD can cross the Rs. 300 crore mark, Taran Adarsh answered, “It’s too early to say. But it’ll have an open run as Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha has been pushed ahead. Hindustani 2 might impact as it’ll take away the screens.”
Girish Johar opined, “Crossing the Rs. 300 crore mark might not be possible. But I think Rs. 250 crore lifetime is definitely on the cards.” Atul Mohan, however, said, “The collections are phenomenal. It had a double digit Monday. Now, the film can go anywhere. Rs. 300 crore is quite possible.”
Boost for Prabhas For Prabhas, Kalki 2898 AD has proved to be a much-needed success. Except for Radhe Shyam (2022), all his films starting from Baahubali 2 – The Conclusion (2017) opened well. But due to bad or mixed word of mouth, the lifetime earnings were affected. There was also criticism of his performances. Kalki 2898 AD, on the other hand, has not just opened well but has gone beyond expectations.
Taran Adarsh said, “He silenced everyone. People may see what they feel like but you are known by your box-office numbers. He has screen presence and star power and he pulls in the audience in hordes. That is where the triumph lies. Also, he’s not some metro star. His strength lies beyond metros. Prabhas got a major boost with Baahubali but after that, I know a lot of people who saw his previous films in dubbed versions widely. This is because they were so enamoured by this actor. And that has cultivated a superb fan base. The same applies even to Allu Arjun.”
Atul Mohan, in agreement, said, “This is like a shot in the arm for him. Kalki 2898 AD was a very critical film; it was like a die-or-die situation for him.”
Girish Johar noted, “Prabhas manages to get an opening for his films, despite his shortcomings. He has an arresting screen presence and star power. On Day 1, the Telugu market collected more than Rs. 55 crores. Two states collecting so much is an achievement and it shows his star power.”
Kiritbhai T Vaghasia, however, said, “People have come not just for Prabhas. The other actors also played a part. Also, there were reports that it was made on a budget of Rs. 600 crores and that also made people intrigued. Moreover, a big-scale film has released after a long time and hence, they were pulled to the cinemas.”
All eyes on the sequel Now the question is when the sequel to Kalki 2898 AD will arrive. Atul Mohan signed off by saying, “Now they should not delay the sequel. It’ll be a bigger hit. We saw that with KGF - Chapter 1 and so many films. KGF - Chapter 1 had done a business of around Rs. 50 crores. It was expected that it would do 2 or 3 times the business of part 1. But the sequel went to another level. Similarly, the built-up has happened for Kalki 2898 AD. Its sequel will have unimaginable hype. And if they get an additional big actor on board, then it’ll be like sone pe suhaga. Since it’s a successful franchise, no actor will even refuse to work in it.”
Also Read: Kalki 2898 AD: Amitabh Bachchan transforms into mighty Ashwatthama in new behind-the-scenes photos
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