Begum Jaan finds itself at the 10th spot as far as the ‘Top Fridays’ of 2017 are concerned. The film was always touted to be around these lines and hence, a fair opening of Rs. 3.94 crore hasn't come as a surprise, since this was actually the best that it could have done. The film had primarily seen some buzz going for it in the last 8-10 days and hence managed to cover the maximum distance as per merits.
This is how the Vidya Balan starrer stands vis-à-vis other releases of 2017:
Raees – Rs. 20.42 crore
Jolly LLB 2 - Rs.13.2 crore
Badrinath Ki Dulhania - Rs.12.25 crore
Kaabil - Rs.10.43 crore
Rangoon - Rs. 6.07 crore
Commando 2 - Rs. 5.15 crore
Naam Shabana - Rs. 5.12 crore
OK Jaanu - Rs. 4.08 crore
Phillauri - Rs. 4.02 crore
Begum Jaan - Rs. 3.94 crore
It would be unfair to compare Begum Jaan with the Top-5 films in the list, right from Raees till Rangoon, since they have a budget of much higher magnitude when compared to what Vishesh Films has spent on the Vidya Balan starrer. However, when compared to other mid-budget releases, right from Commando 2 to Phillauri, Begum Jaan is low in the ladder. Yes, the budget is again the lowest amongst them all. Still, when newbie actors like Vidyut Jammwal, Taapsee Pannu or Aditya Roy Kapur-Shraddha Kapoor take a better opening than your film then there is something to be introspected.
The film can take solace from the fact that it has opened much better than the only two other notable releases of 2017 - The Ghazi Attack (Rs. 1.65 crore) and Machine (Rs. 0.5 crore). Former still went on to be powered by good word of mouth and managed to score Rs. 20.5 crore in its lifetime run. It has to be seen though whether Begum Jaan can eventually manage that score. As for Machine, it was a complete disaster from Day One (Rs. 0.5 crore) and disappeared without a whimper.