Akshay Kumar's hattrick at the Box Office

Akshay Kumar’s dream run at the box office continues. The actor’s films Gold (2018) and 2.0 (2018) are already in the coveted Rs 100 crore club. And his recent release Kesari is on the brink of joining the club. The ambitious movie based on the 1897 Battle of Saragarhi, in which 21 Sikh soldiers took on nearly 10,000 Afghans, was welcomed with open arms by the audience as well as the Pad Man actor’s die-hard fans.

The period drama produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Aruna Bhatia, Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, Sunir Kheterpal and presented by Zee Studios, hit the screens on March 21 and took a mammoth start at the box office. It collected Rs 20 crore on the first day despite theatres in many parts of India functioning partially on account of Dhuli Vandan.

Netting approximately Rs 78 crore over the extended weekend (first four days), Kesari added another Rs 15 crore to its collections on Monday and Tuesday. It has continued its victory march at the ticket windows and is expected 
to cross the Rs 100 crore mark today.

The movie has also set a few benchmarks for 2019. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “Of all the releases so far this year, Kesari has registered the highest day-one numbers. It also crossed the Rs 50 crore mark on day three and crossed Rs 75 crore the next day. It has also seen the highest opening weekend (India business).” The Akshay-starrer is expected to have a steady footfall during its second weekend at the cinemas, too.

Box-office numbers

• Kesari Rs 93.50 cr (Till Tuesday, March 26)
• 2.0 (2018) Rs 185.89 cr (Hindi version)
• Gold (2018) Rs 102.10 cr (India Nett BO figures from reliable trade sources)