The promo has done the trick. In the times when there is so much dependent on how the promo of a film has been received, and post that what’s the kind of chatter that builds around it, Shaitaan had everything set for it the moment its promo was out. It was known there and then that the Ajay Devgn and Madhavan starrer would be a good enough entertainer that will take at least a good start at the box office. With a tightly coupled three-week long promotion and marketing planned around the film, just about everything fell in place for the Vikas Behl film.
Still, considering the kind of genre that the film belongs to i.e. supernatural/psychological thriller, one wondered whether the film would indeed break the boundaries when it came to going beyond that Rs. 10-12 crores mark. After all, if not spearheaded by a star, such kind of genre opens in Rs. 4-5 crores range at best, and that too has actually become quite extinct. Hence, with Ajay Devgn leading the show with Madhavan in a solid role, one expected the numbers to go double (and a bit more) due to Mahashivratri partial holiday. Beyond that was not really considered.
That’s the reason why with the film actually defying all expectations and actually opening at Rs. 15.21 crores, it has resulted in a joyous mood indeed for the industry. This is certainly not the kind of opening that anyone was expecting but this has happened indeed with even family audiences coming in very good numbers, especially in the evening and night shows. Really, it’s the same kind of audiences that had lent Drishyam 2 a very good start of Rs. 15.38 crores post pandemic and even accounting for the partial holiday yesterday, the numbers are indeed good.
Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources
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