Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is doing well in India. After taking a start of Rs. 16.50 crores on Saturday, the film saw some growth on Sunday as Rs. 18 crores* came in. The growth is not huge and that’s on expected lines since it had pretty much maxed out on Saturday when it saw a release on a holiday. Had this been a regular Friday to Saturday to Sunday trajectory then the growth would have looked different.

That said, what it has achieved is also a very good number since, at least, audiences are stepping in theatres, and that’s a win to be celebrated. The reviews are generally good and while there are mixed reactions amongst audiences, the nostalgia around the brand Mission: Impossible means that, at least, first week would keep seeing good numbers.

Sunday collections are in fact similar to the best ever single day numbers that the entire franchise has managed in India. Prior to this, the best number ever was Rs. 18.08 crores that Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning had accumulated on its first Sunday. Post that it had done well enough to go past Rs. 100 crores lifetime. Here, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning has gathered almost Rs. 35 crores* in two days but with Monday being its third day, it risks getting into a single digit score right away, which means the momentum would be disturbed. One now waits to see how does the shortened first week eventually look like for the Tom Cruise starrer.

*Estimates

Note: All collections as per various box office sources

Tom Cruise has done it again. His Mission: Impossible is a much-loved franchise in India and hence all eyes were on how big the newest instalment would, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, turn out to be. It was a given that the film will take a very good opening and a start of 10 cores was pretty much there for the taking. In fact, when the advance booking started and tickets started flying away quick, an opening of 15 crores was given. What had to be seen was, whether the film will turn out to be even bigger.

Well, as it turned out, the film in fact emerged as a one-horse race as it was way ahead of any competition around it. While Hollywood’s own Final Destination - Bloodlines had arrived and there was Bollywood’s Raid 2 as well continuing with good showcasing, it was Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning that had all eyes on it as audiences embraced it well. The start is in fact the best ever for the franchise.

The first day collections have come as Rs. 17 crores* and pretty much ensures a success in the making. Surprisingly, the film took a very odd start on a Saturday when such event releases actually choose to arrive on a Thursday instead of a conventional Friday. As a result, the core weekend per se will be for just two days since Monday is anyways a regular day with no partial holiday advantage either. Had this come on Friday then there would have been an advantage of at least Rs. 10-15 crores in the overall three-day weekend total.

*Estimates

Note: All collections as per various box office sources

Raid 2 has done well in its second week. Though Friday was impacted due to India-Pakistan situation, Saturday grew with vengeance and then Sunday was even better. Monday was quite close to Friday, which sealed the deal for the film while Tuesday benefitted from Blockbuster Tuesdays offer. Though there was a dip in collections on Wednesday (Rs. 3.32 crores) and Thursday (Rs. 2.98 crores), the job was already done for the film as it was not a bonafide hit.

With no major Hindi releases this week, the Ajay Devgn and Riteish Deshmukh starrer could well have benefitted immensely this weekend as well. However, the newest instalments of Mission: Impossible and Final Destination franchises arriving this week means that Hollywood will rule the roost at theatres. At least Rs. 50-60 crores would be collected between them over the weekend despite Mission: Impossible - Final Reckoning arriving only on Saturday, and that means a huge impact will be felt by Raid 2 which otherwise have cruised past the Rs. 175 crores mark.

Currently, the film stands at Rs. 140.22 crores, which means Rs. 175 crores is still possible. However, that would be a stretch since both the Hollywood films are carrying good to excellent reports. But Rs. 150 crores mark will be comfortably crossed before the close of weekend.

Note: All collections as per various box office sources

Raid 2 went ahead with the Blockbuster Tuesdays offer, what with Rs. 4.53 crores coming in. With Monday bringing on Rs. 4.88 crores, one expected that the collections would comfortably go past Rs. 5 crores mark due to Rs. 99/= offer coming into picture. However, that didn’t happen surprisingly and while there was still a bit of a growth (which is certainly better than a fall), one expected better.

This may be because on Monday the film over-performed a bit due to overflow from that segment of audiences which couldn’t watch the film over the weekend. Also, there was Buddh Purnima partial holiday which had resulted in a surge in collections. Nonetheless, that one opportunity to score Rs. 5 crores+ number during one of the weekdays as well has been missed and this will now happen again on Saturday next with a very good jump yet again round the corner.

So far, the Ajay Devgn and Riteish Deshmukh starrer has collected Rs. 133.92 crores and while a dip would be seen today due to regular ticket prices coming into picture and also special night shows of the latest Final Destination film, Rs. 140 crores mark will still be certainly crossed by close of week. The film is a hit already and while Rs. 175 crores lifetime is there for the taking, anything on top of that would be an added bonus.

Note: All collections as per various box office sources

After seeing very good jump on Saturday and then showing growth yet again on Sunday, Raid 2 had consolidated its positioning quite well at the box office. While it was now a given that the weekdays would be stable as well with around Rs. 3 crores coming at least on Monday or Tuesday, no one was prepared for how things actually unfold at the box office.

Well, there was a pleasant surprise round the corner for the industry as Monday numbers came to Rs. 4.88 crores. This is very good since on Friday the film had brought in Rs. 5.01 crores and even after considering the fact that the decline was seen due to geopolitical scenario, still for the film to collect so close to this number on Monday is a testimony to the fact that it has been accepted well by the audience. Had things being normal last week, then too Friday would have been Rs. 7 crores at best. So, what we see on Monday is still a fair drop over that perceived number.

The good thing is that today Rs. 99/= has come back in action due to Blockbuster Tuesdays offer, which means collections would be better than Monday. As a result, we are looking at weekdays further contributing at least Rs. 18 crores with an outside chance of Rs. 20 crores being hit as well. The Ajay Devgn and Riteish Deshmukh starrer has now reached Rs. 129.39 crores and by the close of second week, Rs. 140 crores would be comfortably surpassed.

Hit.

Note: All collections as per various box office sources