A still from Animal. (courtesy: YouTube)
The Monday test has been passed with "distinction marks" by the new blockbuster in town – Ranbir Kapoor's new release Animal, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga and co-starring Rashmika Mandanna, Anil Kapoor and Bobby Deol. Animal scored the "biggest Monday ever" with record earnings of just over Rs 40 crore, reported trade analyst Taran Adarsh. The film's Hindi version now has a total of at Rs 216.64 crore at the domestic box office; the regional dubs have contributed another Rs 29 crore bringing the total of all versions of the film to over Rs 246 crore.
Animal's "exceptional hold on a working day is an eye-opener," Mr Adarsh wrote. The film is likely to gallop ahead unchallenged at the box office until the Christmas weekend and the arrival of Shah Rukh Khan's Dunki as well as Salaar, starring Prabhas. Animal could also join this year's 500 crore club, currently comprising of SRK's Jawan and Pathaan, and Sunny Deol's Gadar 2.
"Animal is a blockbuster. Animal passes the make-or-break Monday test with distinction marks, the exceptional hold on a working day is an eye-opener. Biggest Monday Ever. Friday 54.75 cr, Saturday 58.37 cr, Sunday 63.46 cr, Monday 40.06 cr. Total: Rs 216.64 cr. Hindi version. Nett BOC. Keeping its unstoppable run in mind, Animal will be a one-horse race till the Christmas biggies arrive. 2023 will go down as a landmark year in the history of Hindi cinema, with three Rs 500+ cr films [NBOC]:Pathaan, Gadar 2 and Jawan. Animal has the power and stamina to join this illustrious list," posted Taran Adarsh adding the regional numbers.
Sharing the day 3 collection of Animal on X (formerly known as Twitter), Taran Adarsh wrote, “Tsunami - Hurricane - Typhoon… Animal has a historic weekend… Animal packs a blockbuster total in its opening weekend, despite ‘A' certification…” The film critic mentioned that on Sunday, Animal collected a total of ₹70.69 crore, with ₹63.46 crore from the Hindi version and ₹7.23 crore contributed by South-Indian languages.
Writing for NDTV, film critic Saibal Chatterjee gave Animal 1.5 stars and said, “Animal is the kind of film that would have us believe that it is no big deal for a loving son to go berserk when it comes to tackling those who threaten the well-being of his dad and his two sisters. Since danger seems to lurk over the family at every corner, he has the licence to be as boorish as he wants to be. The protagonist (Ranbir Kapoor) goes hell for leather, spills tons of blood, kills tens of people and blows hot and hotter when he figures out that a conspiracy is indeed afoot to eliminate the patriarch and rob his family of the steel plant that it owns. Even in love, there is no room for niceties for this my-way-or-the-highway guy. He does not so much as fall in love as make a grab for it. He does not propose marriage. He literally demands it.”
Animal has been produced by T-Series Films, Bhadrakali Pictures and Cine1 Studios.