Border is looking to collect Rs.2. Earning around Rs 28 crore on the first day at the Indian box office. This number could be slightly higher, depending on how some actual data comes in the morning. The film may do better in some smaller centres, though they shouldn’t make that big of a difference. Yesterday advance speed raised Rs. Indicated. 30-35 crores as a possibility, although that pace may be a mirage with outside help as progress in the national series has been much stronger than the rest, which is not usually the case.
The film performed best in Delhi-UP, East Punjab, Rajasthan and Bihar, circuits that have traditionally been Deol family strongholds. The business here has come to Rs. 40-45 crore net day ratio level. West Bengal also performed better thanks to the help during holidays. Mumbai and the southern circuits were on the lower end, which is usually the case with Deol films. Having said that, Gujarat generally does well for them and performed really strongly for Gadar 2, but it was ordinary here. Nevertheless, these circuits may become operational over the weekend, with initial reports appearing to be positive.
Notably, East Punjab had performed poorly for Gadar 2 due to weak results from the state of Punjab. Sunny Deol, who was the box office god in the state, saw some decline in his appeal after his political stint. Today, the state of Punjab has done well, partly due to local holidays and possibly the presence of Punjabi superstar Diljit, which has added some value. The overall circuit will clear Rs. 3 crore net mark, probably around Rs. 3.50 crore nett as compared to Rs. Gadar 2 earned Rs 4.21 crore.
Although expectations from the film were high, it is still a good situation. It’s also important to contextualize where those expectations are coming from. Sunny Deol as a box-office entity had largely languished in the last two decades. The blockbuster success of Gadar 2 was a pleasant but shocking surprise for everyone, including Sunny Deol himself. If Gadar 2 had not existed, these opening numbers of Border 2 would have been viewed with similar pleasant surprise. But now that we have the example of Gadar 2, they are feeling a little disappointed. The irony is that Gadar 2 was underrated before its release, but due to its success Border 2 is slightly overrated.
Looking ahead, the film will see a big growth over the weekend, and then there will be a massive national holiday for Republic Day on Monday. Given the patriotic themes of Borderlands 2, they’ll fit in strongly with the day, and it should be a pretty big day. Four day extended weekend Rs. Must be crossed. 125 crore nett. It may reach close to Rs. Rs 150 crore nett too, especially if the Mumbai circuit comes on board over the weekend. This will take the film on its way to becoming a hit and even more so if it is like the latter case.
