Nani’s HIT3 and Suriya’s Retro go neck-to-neck at Karnataka box office on Day 1
After a strong opening day on the May Day holiday, both HIT 3 and Retro headed into the first Friday, a working day, on the back of vastly different reviews
HIT 3 and Retro released on May 1
Last Updated: 08.28 PM, May 02, 2025
May 1, 2025, was a big day at the Karnataka box office, with two big films hitting theatres, namely Eega star Nani’s HIT 3 and Ghajini fame Suriya’s Retro. HIT3 began its box office campaign in Karnataka with early morning shows around 6 am, which Retro skipped, settling for a 9 am start. This tactical advantage, though, did not help HIT 3 much in the larger scheme of things, as both films ended with almost similar Day 1 gross figures.
Career best opening for Nani and Suriya in Karnataka
According to industry trackers, HIT 3 recorded a gross of Rs 3 crore from Karnataka, while Retro was not far behind at Rs 2.85 cr, which is said to be Varanam Aayiram actor Suriya’s career best opening in the state. The big question now is how both films will fare over the weekend, given that Nani’s film opened with great reviews, while Retro did not have that luxury.
At the all-India level also, HIT 3 had only a small advantage over Retro. HIT 3 is reported to have made Rs 24.75 cr gross (net of Rs 21 cr), vis-à-vis Retro’s Rs 22.25 cr (net of Rs 19 cr). Early figures from day 2, though, indicate that HIT 3 is performing better than Retro, at Rs 5.82 cr and Rs 3.66 cr net respectively. HIT 3’s worldwide collection has been reported to be Rs 40 crore, while Retro is a tad behind at Rs 35 cr.
HIT 3 is the third instalment in director Sailesh Kolanu’s HIT universe and paired Nani with KGF and Cobra fame Srinidhi Shetty. The film is said to be Nani’s career best to date, with Srinidhi’s character also receiving a lot of praise. Despite being censored A, owing to the gore and violence, the film has done exceedingly well at the box office, although break even is still a long way off.
Suriya and Pooja Hegde (Love Action Dhamaka , Beast) were hailed for their performances in Retro, but director Karthik Subbaraj’s writing, which presented a narrative with massive Jigarthanda Double X hangover, has not gone well with audiences. It remains to be seen how both films perform over the weekend. Karthik is also known for films like Petta .