Box office: 'Mission Raniganj' fails to touch even Rs. 3cr
Akshay Kumar may have received acclaim for his role as engineer Jaswant Singh Gill in Mission Raniganj, but a good box office opening still remains illusory for him. Directed by Tinu Suresh Desai, the film portrays real events that transpired in 1989 during the Raniganj Coalfields rescue mission. It was released theatrically on October 6 and, owing to negligible promotions, received a cold opening.
Why does this story matter?
Kumar had a string of flops in 2022—Bachchhan Paandey, Samrat Prithviraj, Raksha Bandhan, and Ram Setu. His luck shone finally with OMG 2 in August 2023, but he wasn't the lead in it, and the franchise factor had a lot to do with the social drama's success. Hence, while Kumar has no dearth of projects, he needs to offer returns, too.
'MR' fell short of touching Rs. 3cr
Per trade tracker Sacnilk, the film earned a shockingly low Rs. 2.8cr (early estimates) on its first day and witnessed an overall occupancy of 11.83%. As is often the case, the night shows had the maximum turnout (17.97%), followed by the evening shows (9.93%). The film might pick up speed in the coming days, but it depends solely on good word-of-mouth.
Decoding reasons behind 'MR's stone-cold opening
There are several reasons behind the survival thriller's poor commercial response. Firstly, it could be the oversaturation of Kumar's films—he has appeared in eight films from 2022 to now. Secondly, as Kumar has also accepted, Mission Raniganj is topic-oriented and doesn't have masala elements, which often becomes a hurdle at the box office. Lastly, Fukrey 3 and Jawan are still cinegoers' first choices.
Learn more about real story that inspired film
In 1989, 65 miners got entrapped in water-logged coal mines in Raniganj. Gill rose to the occasion and took it upon himself to save their lives. He worked on an iron capsule—six feet tall and 21 inches broad—to lower into the mine and save them. Now, Coal India commemorates his courage every year on November 16 (the day of the incident) as Rescue Day.
Supporting cast and crew of 'Mission Raniganj'
Previously titled Capsule Gill, Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue has been bankrolled by Pooja Entertainment. Apart from Kumar, it also stars Parineeti Chopra (special appearance), Kumud Mishra, Ravi Kishan, Pavan Malhotra, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Rajesh Sharma, and Ananth Mahadevan. It has been written by Vipul K Rawal (Rustom, Batti Gul Meter Chalu). This is Kumar's second collaboration with Chopra after Kesari.
