Mumbai: ‘Mirzapur The Movie’ was expected to make a strong start after the release of its first teaser earlier this year.
However, the film’s performance has exceeded expectations, particularly in mass markets such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi.
Last week, most trade experts predicted that ‘Mirzapur The Movie’ would open with around ₹18-20 crore. However, its early performance prompted them to revise their estimates upwards.
According to Sacnilk, the film had earned ₹17.28 crore net by 7 PM on Friday.
The film recorded around 26% occupancy during morning shows, which rose to 41% in the afternoon. With positive reviews coming in, ‘Mirzapur The Movie’ is expected to see higher occupancy during the evening and night shows.
The film hit theatres in both Hindi and Telugu. However, the Telugu version has received a limited response so far, collecting less than ₹10 lakh. The Hindi version continues to account for the bulk of the film’s earnings.
A Hindi film opening above ₹25 crore is usually associated with A-list actors and a select group of pan-India stars.
Apart from the three Khans, Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan, only a handful of actors have consistently delivered openings in this range.
With ‘Mirzapur The Movie’, Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal and Divyenndu could also join this select group of actors known for delivering ₹25 crore-plus openings.
If the current trend continues, the film is expected to cross the ₹25 crore mark on its first day. This would put it ahead of recent sleeper hits such as Saiyaara, which earned ₹22 crore, and Awarapan 2, which collected ₹21.50 crore.
‘Mirzapur: The Movie’ is presented by Amazon MGM Studios and Excel Entertainment. Gurmeet Singh has directed the film, with Puneet Krishna serving as the writer.
Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar have backed the project as producers under the Excel Entertainment banner.
Kassim Jagmagia and Vishal Ramchandani have co-produced the film. Alongside Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi and Divyenndu, Jitendra Kumar joins the cast as Bablu Pandit, taking over the role previously played by Vikrant Massey.
Ravi Kishan appears in a new role, while Abhishek Banerjee, Rasika Dugal, Sheeba Chadha, Rajesh Tailang, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Harshita Shekhar Gaur and Shweta Tripathi reprise their roles from the series.
