Bollywood's latest release, Batwara 1947, starring Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta, has concluded its opening weekend on a disappointing note, raking in a modest ₹26.50 crore at the box office. Initial signs pointed towards a promising start, as the film witnessed a significant boost in its Saturday collection, thanks to the Independence Day celebrations. However, this momentum failed to sustain itself, and the film experienced a sharp decline in its collection on Sunday.
According to the trade tracker Sacnilk, Batwara 1947 earned ₹7.25 crore net on Sunday, marking a 46.3% drop from Saturday's collection of ₹13.50 crore. The film had opened to ₹5.75 crore net on Friday, but its Saturday collection saw a massive jump of around 135%, taking the two-day total to ₹19.25 crore and raising hopes of a strong opening weekend.
Unfortunately, the film was unable to carry this momentum into Sunday, and its first weekend total stands at ₹26.50 crore net in India. In comparison, Emraan Hashmi's Awarapan 2 has emerged as the stronger performer among the week's major releases, collecting ₹26 crore net on its third day alone and taking its India net total to ₹81.75 crore.
The contrast between Batwara 1947 and Awarapan 2 becomes even more striking when compared to Sunny Deol's previous releases. For instance, his 1997 film Border 2 collected ₹54.50 crore net on its third day, with the film recording these numbers across 15,886 shows and already reaching ₹121.00 crore net in India in its opening weekend.
Both Border 2 and Batwara 1947 have Sunny Deol at the centre and carry a patriotic backdrop, but their theatrical journeys have been vastly different. While Border 2 continued to build momentum through the opening weekend, Batwara 1947 has struggled to hold on to the gains made on Independence Day.
The film's Day 3 performance also looks modest when compared to Gadar 2, which marked Sunny Deol's massive comeback in the industry. The blockbuster collected ₹51.70 crore net on Day 3 and earned ₹134.88 crore net in India after three days.
Going forward, Batwara 1947 will need strong weekday holds and positive word of mouth to keep its theatrical run going. The film's story revolves around Sunny Deol playing a Muslim man who migrates to Pakistan during the Partition, only to discover a Hindu woman, played by Shabana Azmi, living upstairs in his home who refuses to leave. He takes it upon himself to protect her while ensuring his family's safety.
