Sunny Deol starrer Batwara 1947 has recorded a low opening weekend at the Indian box office. The film showed a strong jump on Day 2 because of the Independence Day holiday, but its collections dropped significantly on Sunday. The film added Rs. 6.75 crore on Day 3, taking its opening weekend collection to Rs. 24.25 crore nett.
The film saw a 45 per cent drop on Sunday compared with its Day 2 collection. While the Independence Day holiday helped the movie register a major increase on Saturday, the Sunday numbers could not maintain the same pace.
Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, Batwara 1947 now needs a significant improvement in its daily collections to have a chance of recovering at the box office. The film has received a mixed response from audiences, which has affected its performance. Its clash with Awarapan 2 has also added another challenge to its theatrical run.
The film’s performance is particularly important because it was planned after the major success of Gadar 2, which brought Sunny Deol back into the spotlight after a long period. Batwara 1947 is backed by Aamir Khan Productions and tells a story set against the backdrop of Partition.
The film includes several elements associated with Sunny Deol’s mass image, but its approach is different from the Gadar films. In Batwara 1947, Deol plays a Pakistani character who helps protect a Hindu woman and her religion. This is different from Tara Singh’s character in the Gadar franchise, where the story directly focused on fighting against Pakistan.
The mixed audience response has become one of the main concerns for the film. A stronger response could have helped the movie maintain momentum after the Independence Day holiday. With the opening weekend now at Rs. 24.25 crore, the film needs a strong turnaround during the weekdays to improve its overall box office performance.
The day wise collections of Batwara 1947 are Rs. 5.00 crore on Day 1, Rs. 12.50 crore on Day 2 and Rs. 6.75 crore on Day 3. The total opening weekend collection stands at Rs. 24.25 crore nett in India.
The coming days will be important for the film as its weekday performance will determine whether it can recover from its slow opening weekend.