Prashanth Neel’s period action drama KGF: Chapter 2 is all the rage across the country. The sequel to the 2018 blockbuster, KGF: Chapter 1, was highly anticipated since its announcement and box-office figures confirm that the new film, the second in eight years for director Prashanth Neel and actor Yash, has exceeded all expectations.
Hombale films, the production house of KGF: Chapter 2, confirmed that a whopping Rs 134.5 crore was collected on Thursday, the opening day. The Hindi version of the film has grossed Rs 53.95 crore, making it the highest ever first day collection for any film in the language, ahead of War and Thugs of Hindostan. “The success isn’t a surprise,” said S R Prabhu of Dream Warrior Pictures, the Tamil Nadu distributor of the film.
Dubbed KGF-2 highest Malayalam grosser
“We foresaw it even before we bought the rights of the film and were confident audience would love the second part even more than the first.” He went on to share an impressive statistic: “The second part has recovered the lifetime collection of the first film in Tamil Nadu, and it has done this in just one day. I am confident that this is the same in other languages as well.”
Manoj Desai, executive director of G7 Multiplex and Maratha Mandir Cinema in Mumbai, painted a picture of happiness. “Almost 1,000 seats, across both our screens, are already sold out for the weekend. The film has performed exceedingly well and the positive reviews have helped too.”
A reduction in Covid cases, relaxation of mask mandates and early morning shows have all all combined to result in increased footfalls. “The shows on our property began as early as 4 am and we have scheduled nine shows in all. The early shows have a higher fare because of the flexible ticket pricing option,” shared Kavitha, manager of Mukta A2 Cinemas, Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, the Malayalam dubbed version of the film, distributed by actor Prithviraj Sukumaran, has reportedly dethroned Mohanlal’s Odiyan to become the highest-grossing film in the language by grossing Rs 7.2 crores on the first day. And yet, distributor and the president of the Tamil Nadu Theatres’ Association president, Tirupur Subramaniam, stated that Vijay’s Beast continues to lead the box office race in Tamil Nadu for the moment.