Mardaani 3 has finally hit the theaters after seven years of waiting, and Rani Mukerji has disappointed her fans on the acting front. However, the movie itself is having a tough time at the box office with the film trying to recover its budget of approx. Rs 60 crore. After nearly a week in theaters, the crime thriller has managed to garner Rs 24.25 crore, but the weekday drop-off casts doubts over the film’s long-term box office performance potential.
Mardaani 3 day wise box office collection
The Rani Mukerji-starrer started well at the box office. The movie released last Friday with a quiet Rs 4 crore, then picked up over the weekend. Saturday brought in Rs 6.25 crore and Sunday hit a high of Rs 7.25 crore. But that momentum hit a brick wall on Monday.
While Monday’s numbers crashed to Rs 2.25 crore, a tiny bump was registered on Tuesday with Rs 2.6 crore collections; however Wednesday again saw the collection slide back down to Rs 2 crore. For a franchise this famous, these aren’t the kind of numbers that usually scream ‘blockbuster.’
Mardaani 3: Story, cast and more
Directed by Abhiraj Minawala, the film tries to tackle a ‘beggar mafia’ and a massive child-trafficking ring. Rani Mukerji, who is celebrating 30 years in the business with this film, is still the main reason people are showing up. But even her performance can’t hide a script that many fans say feels like a repeat of what we’ve already seen.
Critics are calling it ‘predictable,’ saying it lacks the gritty ‘wow factor’ that made the first two films special. Even the addition of Mallika Prasad as a new villain and Janki Bodiwala in a key role hasn’t been enough to save the screenplay from the ‘same old story’ tag.
Occupancy and future box office predictions
On Wednesday, the theaters were pretty empty, with only about 10 per cent occupancy across India. Most of those people showed up for the night shows, while the morning screenings were almost ghost towns.
With a budget rumoured to be around Rs 50–60 crore, Mardaani 3 is in a tight spot. It needs a massive jump this coming weekend if it wants to break even. If it doesn’t, this return might end up being a short one as new movies start taking over the screens in February.