In 2017 there have been two out and out love stories to arrive in theaters – OK Jaanu and Phillauri. Now former has managed to find a better trending for itself even though latter had opened slightly better. While OK Jaanu had seen opening day numbers of 4.08 crore, Phillauri was a few lakhs lesser with 4.02 crore coming in. However, it has done much better over the weekend as OK Jaanu had netted 13.8 after three days whereas Phillauri has managed to surpass it with 15.25 crore coming in.
In terms of reception from the critics and audiences, Phillauri has fared a little better and that is expected to reflect in its numbers over the weekdays. In any case, its production costs (21 crore, including marketing and promotion) coupled with returns (12 crore via satellite and music) have ensured that recovery is not an issue.
Box Office – Phillauri keeps the momentum on over the weekend, is a big success already up North
Producer Anushka Sharma played a masterstroke by roping in Diljit Dosanjh for the part since it is his presence which is making all the difference to the collections of Phillauri. Since he is the Number One superstar in Punjab and the film is based in this region, audience footfalls are bound to be strong. Due to this, there is a considerable difference between how much is the film collecting in Punjab, Delhi NCR and Haryana compared to the rest of the country.
As a matter of fact due to Phillauri, even Badrinath Ki Dulhania has been impacted to a certain degree. The film could well have been on a free run during the third weekend as well but currently the numbers stand at 107.69 crore. If not for Phillauri, the Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt starrer could have actually gone past the 110 crore mark already. The film is already a profitable venture though.
*Estimates. Final numbers awaited
Note: All numbers as per production and distribution sources
