Bachchhan Paandey box office collections Day 1: Akshay Kumar starrer surprises on the opening Friday

On the first day, Bachchhan Paandey shocked with collections in the Rs 13 to Rs 13.50 crore nett range. The film was supposed to do better, but it was before the wave of The Kashmir Files, and it didn't appear to have a chance when advance screenings began earlier this week. As per reports in Box Office India, the collections in key cities appear to be about Rs 13 crore nett, but on Friday, being a Holi festival and mass markets may drive the collections to Rs 14 crore nett in the morning. These figures also indicate that it would have been an easy Rs 20 crore nett plus day if The Kashmir Files had not appeared out of anywhere.

The film is a distant second to The Kashmir Files, but that is the luck of the draw, and Bachchhan Paandey has performed admirably on the day to get this result. Although the advance was no match for The Kashmir Files, it did put up a better fight on the day. It's strange to say Bachchhan Paandey is fighting The Kashmir Files when it should be the other way around, but that's how things have gone in the last week or so.

While trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted that despite The Kashmir Files wave, limited showcasing, and post-noon screenings owing to #Holi festivities, Bachchhan Paandey surprised by reaching double digits on Day 1. Massive pockets lead in Mumbai and Gujarat. Day 2 and 3 should see an increase in business. Friday's business is worth Rs 13.25 crores in India.

The Mumbai circuit has the best collections, with Gujarat and Saurashtra leading the way, and the circuit's total receipts might be close to Rs 5 crore nett. Due to Holi, the mass markets of CPCI Rajasthan will also do well, and Nizam-Andhra also looks promising. North India may underperform because The Kashmir Files' momentum is stronger there. On its second Friday, The Vivek Agnihotri directorial is expected to gross between Rs 18 and Rs 19 crore nett.

Overall, the industry is doing well at the box office since business began in the afternoon on Holi, and the two main films have grossed roughly Rs 32 crore nett, with holdovers adding another Rs 1 crore nett. This is not a full-fledged holiday in which the first half of the day is lost. Therefore, despite the pandemic, a Rs 50-crore-nett-plus day is available on a national holiday. 

KGF 2 (Hindi) and Jersey will test the waters next in April, which is a bigger festival, so the combined total will be bigger than Holi, and only time will tell if it can come close to Rs 50 crore, or even Rs 50 crore. In general, the box office for Hindi films has returned to normal.