Box office: 'The Vaccine War' fails to cross Rs. 2cr
Vivek Agnihotri's The Vaccine War, based on the development of India's first indigenous vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic, was released theatrically on Thursday. It marked Agnihotri's directorial return after the mammoth success of The Kashmir Files and stars Pallavi Joshi, Nana Patekar, Raima Sen, and Anupam Kher in a special appearance. Despite extensive social media promotion, the film seems to have crashed already.
Why does this story matter?
When The Kashmir Files was released last year, it turned into a massive surprise hit, solely due to excellent word of mouth. However, it also encountered its share of controversies and divided audiences, who claimed that TKF was an exercise in propaganda. Nonetheless, Agnihotri and the team wanted to replicate that success with TVW, but this time, he seemingly failed to connect with viewers.
It earned Rs. 90 lakh on Friday
Per trade tracker Sacnilk, the film minted Rs. 90 lakh on its second day (Friday); the total collections now stand at Rs. 1.75 crore. The maximum occupancy was witnessed during night shows (14.96%), followed by evening shows (14.22%). With the extended weekend upon us, The Vaccine War still has some chance to redeem itself until Akshay Kumar's Mission Raniganj arrives on October 6.
Why the film failed
The Vaccine War, in some ways, is a niche film laden with scientific jargon, which might make it difficult for most people to connect with it completely. In addition, several reviews also stated the film acts as a mouthpiece for the government, which also goes against him. Moreover, its clash with Fukrey 3 and Chandramukhi 2, its fierce competitors, also affected its box-office numbers.
Source material: Based on book
Speaking to Hindustan Times earlier, Agnihotri had revealed, "I've read the ex-Indian Council of Medical Research's director general's book (Balram Bhargava's Going Viral - Making of COVAXIN: The Inside Story) that showcased how Indian scientists [mostly women] tirelessly made a COVID-19 vaccine." The film draws its story from the events mentioned in this book. Agnihotri has also termed it "India's first bio-science film."
