Box Office: Kartik-Kriti’s Shehzada Records Low Opening; Collects Half Of What Love Aaj Kal 2 Earned On Day 1

Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon's Shehzada, directed by Rohit Dhawan, was finally released yesterday (February 17) amid a good buzz and huge expectations. Produced by T-Series Films, Haarika & Hassine Creations, Geetha Arts and Brat Films, it is Kartik's first theatrical release post the super success of Anees Bazmee's horror-comedy Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 last year.

Shehzada is the official Hindi remake of Allu Arjun's 2020 Telugu hit Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo and features Kriti Sanon as the leading lady opposite him. The film also features Manisha Koirala, Paresh Rawal, Ronit Roy, and Rajpal Yadav, among others in important roles. Its trailer received a good response from moviegoers and created a positive pre-release buzz.

Since its release on Friday, Rohit Dhawan's directorial has been getting a mixed response from critics and moviegoers. However, Shehzada underperformed on the first day of its release and had a shockingly low opening. Yes, you read that right!

As per early estimates, Shehzada failed to even cross the Rs 10 crore mark at the ticket window and earned Rs 6 crore on Friday. Revealing the same, trade analyst Taran Adarsh wrote, "#Shehzada disappoints on Day 1, despite buy-one-get-one-free offer... National chains ordinary, mass circuits dull... #MahaShivratri holiday on Day 2 may improve biz, but needs bigger jumps for a respectable weekend total... Fri ₹ 6 cr [+/-]. #India biz."

Looks like, the Pathaan effect is still going on. Also, it is facing stiff competition from the Hollywood biggie Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania.

Shehzada is the first big Bollywood release ever since Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone's much-hyped film got released last month, on January 25, and we just hope that the action drama jumps big time on Saturday.

After a disappointing opening, the footfalls need to multiply over the next few days for Shehzada to reach a healthy total. Interestingly, the opening is half of Kartik's Love Aaj Kal 2 first-day collections which itself was a huge box-office failure. Co-starring Sara Ali Khan, Love Aaj Kal 2 was released in February 2020 and collected Rs 12 crore on its opening day.

On the other hand, SRK's Pathaan is still performing well at the ticket window. The spy thriller finally crossed the Rs 500 crore mark in India in the third week of its release and is expected to maintain well in the fourth week as well.

Keep watching this space for more updates!