Despite a global wide release and a decent word-of-mouth, the new Hindi film Chandu Champion made a dismal opening at the ticket windows and closed the first weekend at mere $3.7 million at global box office. The film, starring Kartik Aaryan in the lead role, is directed by Kabir Khan (83, Bajrangi Bhaijaan) and tells the real-life story of gold medalist Murlikant Petkar.
Chandu Champion has performed as per trade expectations. Most trade analysts hoped for a below $1 million opening day collections for the film. It managed to score $950,000 globally and $560,000 in India on the first day of the release on June 14, Friday.
Thanks to a fairly good word-of-mouth, the collections for Chandu Champion nearly doubled on the second day. It made $950,000 on Saturday in India. The worldwide two-day total for the film crossed $2 million and that figure in India stood at $1.5 million. Chandu Champion scored best on Sunday – it made a little more than $1 million in India. At the global box office, the film made slightly more and stood at a three-day total of $3.7 million.
Chandu Champion, Aaryan’s first sports biopic, ranks among his biggest releases. The new film released across 3200 screens in India and an additional 1300 screens outside of India.
Aaryan plays the lead role of India’s gold medalist Murlikant Petkar in the film. Petkar bagged a gold medal at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Germany, he won a gold medal in 50 meter freestyle swimming. Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment and Kabir Khan Films have produced the film which also features Vijay Raaz and Bhuvan Arora in important roles.
Munjya Score
Meanwhile, the horror-comedy Munjya continues to score big at the ticket windows. It made a huge collection on its second Sunday and the figure surpassed the earnings for its first Sunday. With a thirty percent growth, the film earned more than $1 million in India. The ten-day total for Munjya stood at $6.6 million in India and $8.01 million at the global box office.
Trade Speak on Chandu Champion
Explaining the reasons behind an anticipated slow start for Chandu Champion, film exhibitor and trade analyst Vishek Chauhan said earlier that the Kartik Aaryan-starrer sports biopic appeared more of an urban, niche film which may not find many audiences in smaller towns. “It may find good patronage in metros and the bigger cities. The film is relying fully on word-of-mouth. I do not see much hype in audience right now, we have not had many queries about it at our cinemas. The only saving grace will be that it turns out to be a fantastic and mind-blowing film. That can make the word-of-mouth so electric that it saves the film from going completely downhill.”
Producer and film business expert Girish Johar added, that the end of elections and IPL matches offers a good window for the Hindi film to score big. Nonetheless, he added that each film may only score as good as the entertainment package that it offers.
