A still from Fighter. (courtesy: YouTube)
The weekday business of Fighter, which released last week, is something of a "paradox," in trade analyst Taran Adarsh's words. Fighter, which stars Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone as air force officers, has seen a sharp drop in domestic box office numbers – "the dwindling numbers in India are a complete shocker," per Mr Adarsh. However, the film is doing well abroad; USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have posted strong weekday figures after an "excellent weekend" of business. "How does one explain this paradox," Taran Adarsh asked in his post on the numbers.
Fighter's domestic box office total after six days on screens is Rs 134 crore, as reported by Sacnilk. This week, daily collections fell to single digits – Rs 8 crore on Monday and Rs 7.5 crore yesterday – as compared to Sunday's total of Rs 29 crore.
"Fighter shocks India, rocks overseas. The underperformance of Fighter has sent shock waves within the industry. Imagine, the film ticks all the boxes - right from star names and director's credentials to tremendous critical acclaim and positive audience feedback. Yet, the dwindling numbers in India are a complete shocker. To face a setback at the very start of the year is indeed worrisome," posted Taran Adarsh.
He continued: "Having said that, while the numbers are witnessing a downward trend in India, the biz in key international markets continue to be strong, even on weekdays. Markets like USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are still holding fort, even after an excellent weekend. How does one explain this paradox?"
Read Taran Adarsh's post here:
He's not the only expert taken aback by the unimpressive numbers of the year's first big film. "It's disappointing to see Fighter drop on Monday. This is a film that deserved to be a success. Surprised that audiences have not stepped in, even though Friday was particularly good," wrote trade analyst Joginder Tuteja – read his full post here:
Fighter, directed by Siddharth Anand, also stars Anil Kapoor, Karan Singh Grover and Akshay Oberoi in pivotal roles.