The much-awaited comic caper Welcome To The Jungle has finally hit cinemas and, as expected, the film has started on a fair note at the box office. As per early trends, the Akshay Kumar-led multi-starrer recorded an occupancy of around 12% in the morning shows across India.
In terms of collections, Welcome To The Jungle has collected around Rs. 2.36 cr. nett by 11 AM on Day 1. The start is decent, though not explosive, and the film will now depend heavily on how the afternoon and evening shows grow, especially in the mass centres and family-driven circuits.
Interestingly, Maharashtra and NCR were nearly neck-to-neck in terms of collections in the morning. However, NCR recorded a stronger occupancy of around 17%, indicating better footfalls in that belt despite collections being almost at par with Maharashtra. Among cities, Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru emerged as the top three contributors in terms of collections till 11 am.
The performance in the national chains has also been noteworthy. The film collected around Rs. 1.08 cr. nett from national chains, which amounts to approximately 45% of its all-India collections till 11 AM. This suggests that while multiplexes have contributed significantly to the early total, the film will need stronger traction from non-national chains and single screens as the day progresses to reach a bigger number.
It must also be noted that Welcome To The Jungle had limited paid previews on Thursday, during which it collected around Rs. 3.75 cr. nett. This is a healthy number and has added to the overall opening momentum of the film.
Going by the current trend, Welcome To The Jungle is likely to close Day 1 in the range of Rs. 16 cr. to Rs. 18 cr. nett, provided the evening and night shows witness the expected jump. For a big-ticket comedy with a huge ensemble cast, the film has opened on expected lines, but the crucial test will begin post-noon. A stronger trend in the second half of the day can push it towards the higher end of the projected range.
