The Indian cinema industry, after facing testing times and a long period of uncertainty, has bounced back full throttle, making history with a staggering weekend collection of Rs 390 crore. With the release of Rajinikanth’s ‘Jailer’, Sunny Deol’s ‘Gadar 2’, and Akshay Kumar’s ‘OMG 2’, the industry saw a stunning resurgence with record-breaking success. Deol’s captivating presence in ‘Gadar 2’ contributed significantly to the weekend’s extraordinary numbers, amassing a staggering collection of Rs 285 crore first week itself. Kumar’s charismatic appeal in ‘OMG 2’ further heightened the cinematic fervour, contributing Rs 85 crore to the record-breaking first weekend.
This was a historic feat as it’s the highest-ever weekend gross collection in over a century of Indian cinema.
Commenting on this historic achievement, Shibasish Sarkar, President of the Producers Guild of India, emphasized the power of collaboration and the remarkable storytelling prowess that resulted in this exceptional triumph. The movie theatres witnessed a remarkable footfall of over 21 million individuals across the nation. Notably, this surge surpassed the previous industry record set in April 2017 when ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’ conquered the Indian box office.
#Gadar2 is a #BO MONSTER 🔥🔥🔥… Crossed *lifetime biz* of #War, #BajrangiBhaijaan [on Sat]… Will cross #TigerZindaHai, #PK, #Sanju TODAY [Sun]… Will cross #Dangal TOMORROW [Mon]… Next target: #KGF2 #Hindi [3rd highest grossing film]… [Week 2] Fri 20.50 cr, Sat 31.07 cr.… pic.twitter.com/Xx162aYajT
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) August 20, 2023
Undoubtedly, it’s the season of sequels, thanks to the epic box-office success of ‘Gadar 2’ and ‘OMG 2’!. Kumar used the hashtag #OhMyGadar to thank the audience for the success of ‘Gadar 2’ and ‘OMG 2’. Film trade analyst Taran Adarsh called ‘Gadar 2′ box-office performance historic. In a tweet, he said, “Gadar 2’ puts up a sensational total in Week 1… It will hit Rs 300 crore today (second Friday). The box-office performance of ‘Gadar is a revelation in mass pockets… The craze for this film is unparalleled… In fact, after a very, very long time, the multiplexes, as well as single screens at mass sectors, are experiencing this kind of hysteria.” Besides predicting the movie’s Rs 300 crore club entry, another film trade analyst Sumit Kadel said that he was optimistic that ‘Gadar 2′ will become the first Hindi film to collect more than Rs 100 crore on its second weekend. He said, “Gadar 2’ concluded Week 1 on a historic note and registered second-highest first week of all time despite clashing with ‘OMG 2’.”
Despite tough competition from ‘Gadar 2’, ‘OMG 2’ held its ground and sealed the first-week box-office collection at Rs 85.05 crore in seven days. Kadel predicted the movie will enter the Rs 100 crore-mark during its second weekend. On the other hand, Adarsh said that word of mouth helped ‘OMG 2’ post an excellent number in one week. He also said that ‘OMG 2’ found its whole-hearted acceptance. “The film is sure to score big numbers in the second weekend (especially on Saturday and Sunday)… This one is NOT slowing down soon,” he tweeted.
Certainly, after a long time cinema lovers had a refreshing time watching some meaningful content. Also, the cinema hall owners too felt relaxed seeing the record breaking footfall and is still continuing. Otherwise the content on the OTT platform and the comfort of home was giving sleepless nights to the owners who were struggling hard to meet their maintenance expenses. At last, ‘customer is the king’ .
