Box Office: Karthikeya 2 emerges a HIT and sets a record; this is what it has in common with Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Peepli [Live], Haunted – 3D and 1920 Evil Returns :Bollywood Box Office

With a start of Rs. 7 lakhs on its first day and now standing around Rs. 28.50 crores mark, the Hindi dubbed version of Karthikeya 2 has done something unthinkable. It has multiplied its first day number by over 400 times already and by the close of its run, this factor would have gone even higher. Of course, a feat like this is an aberration and would stay on to be so for many more years to come since a miracle like this happens only once a while. However, the fact remains that even in its fourth week, the film is bringing on moolah and staying relevant.

What it has also done in the meanwhile is emerge as a clean hit, something which is in any case coming at a premium post-pandemic. Only a handful of films have worked especially in 2022 and in such a scenario, Karthikeya 2 [Hindi] has turned out to be a dark horse.

In the meantime, it has also set another major record that no one could see coming. It has turned out to be a rare film under the lifetime of Rs. 30 crores to see a HIT tag attached to it. Ever since the setting up of Rs. 100 Crore Club by Ghajini in 2008, box office collections have been observed, recorded and tracked much more closely than before. In that context, from 2009 onwards, the only films in the vicinity of Rs. 30 crores which have been declared as hits are Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Peepli [Live], Haunted - 3D and 1920 Evil Returns.

The lowest grosser with this classification is Raaz - The Mystery Continues [Rs. 25 crores] and that's also the oldest of them all as it dates back to 2009. On the other hand the most recent one stays on to be Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015) and post that no other film with a total of 30 crores or below has been named as a hit. However, Karthikeya 2 [Hindi] has achieved this feat, though it too would ultimately join the ranks of other films in the list [Peepli [Live], Haunted - 3D and 1920 Evil Returns] all of which ended up hitting a lifetime of Rs. 30 crores. Of course, after accounting for inflation and ticket prices, each of these films would be much higher but from absolute numbers perspective, this is where Karthikeya 2 [Hindi] finds itself positioned.

Here is the lifetime of all these films:
Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015) – Rs. 30.50 crores
Peepli [Live] (2010) – Rs. 30 crores
Haunted - 3D (2011) – Rs. 30 crores
1920 Evil Returns (2012) – Rs. 30 crores
Karthikeya 2 [Hindi] (2022) – Rs. 28.5o crores (still running)
Raaz - The Mystery Continues (2009) – Rs. 25 crores

In fact the film which is further up in the list is Jolly LLB (2013) which had a lifetime of Rs. 32 crores and was a hit too, though it looks tough for Karthikeya 2 [Hindi] to challenge that score.

Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources