The Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal is unstoppable at the box office. In the first week, it collected Rs. 338.63 crores. The way it is trending, it has a high chance of crossing the collections of Gadar 2 (Rs. 525.45 crores), Pathaan (Rs. 543.05 crores) and Jawan (Rs. 643.87 crores). We ask trade experts what they feel about this aspect.
Vishek Chauhan, owner of Roopbani Cinema in Purnia, Bihar, said, “The way it’s trending, it is simply phenomenal. I expected it to be strong only for the first three days as reports came in that the second half was weaker than the first half. But the audience has bought into the film. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday collections were huge. On Thursday, it was raining in our area. Yet, it held on strongly. It has gone beyond expectations. “The film has struck a chord. Ab yeh nahin rukne nahin waali. It definitely looks like it’ll cross the Rs. 500 crore mark.”
He further said, “But, the female audience hasn’t come in hordes until now. That is one problem that the film might face. But it is being overcompensated by the repeated viewing of male audiences. The youth has connected with the film, the way they did with KGF - Chapter 2 (2022).”
In other parts of the country, however, the members of the fairer sex have endorsed Animal. Kiritbhai T Vaghasia, who runs The Friday Cinema multiplex in Surat, revealed, “We get a mix of both males and females. In fact, we usually get families and Animal is no exception.”
Raj Bansal, the owner of Entertainment Paradise in Jaipur, agreed, “Women are coming in huge numbers and are enjoying it. It has cruel scenes and violent action. Yet, people are loving it, including the below-the-belt humour. 3-4 days later, people are craving to watch it again. That’s a huge plus point.”
On this, Vishek Chauhan opined, “If women audiences have accepted the film in other parts of the country, then Rs. 500-550 crore is on. Nobody can stop it. Hopefully, I’ll also get women patrons from the second week.”
Raj Bansal, meanwhile, stated, “It’s too early to say (whether it can cross Gadar 2, Pathaan and Jawan’s collections) but it’ll cross the Rs. 500 crore mark. It’ll all depend on Dunki and Salaar. If god forbid the Christmas releases don’t do well, Animal will be unstoppable until Fighter’s release on January 25, 2024.”
Gujarat factor The state of Gujarat is seen as a conservative one where clean, universal films usually become hits. Hence, the success of Animal has surprised the industry. Kirtibhai exulted, “It is the first ‘A’ rated film to do such huge business in our theatre. The film has a lot of violence, action and sex. I guess the audience today likes these things”
He added, “80% of the patrons have loved it. During the interval, people come out in the F&B area singing praises. Towards the climax, some of them feel a bit dejected. A common complaint is that it’s too long. But nobody has hated the film until now.” Like Vishek Chauhan, he also said, “We felt that it’ll drop from the weekdays. However, it was very strong in the weekdays, even in the morning and afternoon shows.”
Trade guru Komal Nahta explained, “Sandeep Reddy Vanga has made the hero mouth such obscenities that the youngsters and masses have embraced the protagonist. They see him as one of them as that’s how they talk. Today’s youngsters, including girls, discuss their sex lives and talk filth openly. This is the first time ever that an actor has spoken such vulgar lines. Hence, the target audience is getting a kick as they have never experienced while watching a Hindi film before.”
He further said, “The ladies and family audience might be limited. Lekin masses bhar bhar ke aa rahe hai as they found their hero. That far exceeds the loss in terms of restricted family and ladies’ audience.”
Kiritbhai admitted that this is the first adult-rated film that is drawing house-full crowds and even he can’t explain why it’s happening, “Every day, we get 40-50 calls from customers asking whether children are allowed. Most of them are from nuclear families and the kids don’t have grandparents who can take care of them. We categorically inform them that anyone under 18 won’t be allowed entry. By doing so, we lose not 1 but 3 customers – the mother, the father and the child. But that’s not posed a problem as all our shows are going full or near-full.”
He signed off by saying, “We have even kept blockbuster rates over the weekend. Sometimes, customers complain about the prices. But in the case of Animal, people don’t ask for the rates. They simply say ‘2 ticket dena, 3 ticket dena, 5 ticket dena’. No one cares about the prices and this speaks volumes about the excitement Animal has generated!”
With such excitement, it’s a foregone conclusion that Animal’s sequel, Animal Park, will be a blockbuster of epic proportions. Komal Nahta exulted, “I can’t even imagine the earthquake Animal Park will cause. It will be huge.”
Also Read: Trade experts share their excitement about Ganapath – A Hero Is Born; feel it can be the next successful action grosser of 2023 after Pathaan, Gadar 2, Jawan
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