Rajkummar Rao’s latest action flick “Maalik” also marks the actor’s first gangster-genre film. The movie has so far collected Rs 4.02 crore nett on its opening day in India, PTI reported citing a press release. Rao is portraying a gangster navigating a volatile landscape in the film. This marks his second collaboration with director Pulkit after their 2017 web series Bose: Dead/Alive.
Directed by Pulkit, known for his work on “Bhakshak”, the film also stars Manushi Chhillar, Saurabh Shukla, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Swanand Kirkire and Saurabh Sachdeva in prominent roles. Set in the gritty lanes of 1980s Allahabad, Maalik dives into a world of ambition, power and survival, exploring what it takes to rise in a world governed by guns, greed and loyalty.
According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the film registered an overall Hindi occupancy rate of just 12.86% on Friday. Maalik opened to a slow start, with morning show occupancy at just 6.65%. The trend showed only marginal improvement through the day, rising to 11.12% in the afternoon, 11.78% in the evening and finally reaching 21.88% during the night shows. Among major cities, Chennai recorded the highest turnout at 26.67%, followed by Lucknow at 24% and Jaipur at 22%. In contrast, metro hubs like Mumbai and Delhi NCR underwhelmed with occupancies of 13% and 14.25% respectively.
In terms of box office comparison, Maalik’s opening day earnings lag behind Rajkummar Rao’s previous release ‘Bhool Chuk Maaf’, which brought in Rs 7 crore on Day 1. However, it performed significantly better than ‘Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan’, starring Vikrant Massey and Shanaya Kapoor, which opened to a modest Rs 32 lakh. Major Hollywood production ‘Superman’, contributed to the film’s weak opening. James Gunn’s first DC directorial released this week and collected Rs 7 crore on its first day.