Ek Villain Returns Day 1 Box Office Collection: Arjun Kapoor-John Abraham's Thriller Opens To Decent Numbers

Mohit Suri's much anticipated thriller, Ek Villain Returns hit the marquee on Friday (July 29). Featuring Arjun Kapoor, John Abraham, Disha Patani and Tara Sutaria in leading roles, the film is a spiritual successor of Suri's 2014 blockbuster, Ek Villain which starred Sidharth Malhotra, Shraddha Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh.

Upon its theatrical release on Friday, Ek Villain Returns received mixed to negative reviews from the critics while the audience showered some little more love on it. Despite such mixed reactions, trade analysts hint that the Mohit Suri-directorial recorded a good occupancy especially in the mass centres. One hears that the movie even recorded 70% occupancy at some single screen theatres in the country.

Considering the fate of last few Bollywood releases at the box office, Ek Villain Returns fared a little better on its opening day. Speaking about its box office collection, the film minted Rs 7.05 Crore on Day 1.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted, #EkVillainReturns reaps the benefit of franchise factor, opens better at single screens of mass pockets and Tier-2 centres... Metros - especially national chains - need to gather momentum... Day 2 and 3 crucial... Fri ₹ 7.05 cr. #India biz."

On the other hand, Ek Villain which had released eight years ago, had minted an opening of Rs 16.72 Crores on its first day of release. The lifetime collection of the Sidharth Malhotra-Shraddha Kapoor starrer was Rs 105.62 Crores. Will Ek Villain Returns cross those numbers? Only, the weekend collections will tell!

Prior the film's release, actor and self-styled film critic Kamaal R Khan AKA KRK had claimed that Ek Villain Returns is a remake of a Korean film. Later, the film's producer Ekta Kapoor had rubbished his claims at a press conference in Delhi.