Box office: Kamal Haasan's 'Indian 2's earnings dip by 40%
Kamal Haasan's vigilante action thriller Indian 2 was released theatrically on Friday under the direction of Shankar. This sequel to the 1996 cult classic Indian received mixed reviews on opening day. Despite this, the film managed to pull in a respectable ₹26cr domestically and $1M in North America. However, according to Sacnilk reports, box office earnings dipped by 40% on Saturday. Here's a breakdown of collections on Day 2.
Haasan's film crossed ₹40cr mark on Day 2
On Saturday, the film grossed ₹16cr, taking the domestic total to ₹42cr at the box office. The Tamil version led the pack on Day 1, grossing ₹13cr, followed by the Telugu version at ₹2.5cr. Hindi audiences seemed less engaged, contributing only ₹1.2cr. This trend continued on Day 2, with both Tamil and Telugu collections dipping, while Hindi remained steady.
'Indian 2' beats Akshay Kumar-led 'Sarfira'
Indian 2 faced stiff competition at the box office upon its release on Friday as Akshay Kumar's Sarfira, released simultaneously. However, the latter failed to resonate with audiences. Sarfira only managed a meager opening of ₹2.5cr, and its performance continued to lag behind Haasan's Indian 2 (Hindustani 2 in Hindi) on Saturday, grossing a total of ₹6.75cr domestically and ₹4cr overseas.
'Indian 2' revives Senapathy character amid skepticism
In Indian 2, Haasan reprises his role as Senapathy—a character who combats corruption using the ancient Indian martial art practice of varma kalai. The decision to bring back the character, who would be 106 years old according to the plot, was widely questioned. Responding to these doubts, director Shankar cited a real-life example of Chinese martial artist Lu Zijian who performed martial arts at age 120. "This Senapathy character is also a master, master in an ancient martial," Shankar stated.
