Despite Adipurush makers’ claim that the Prabhas film has earned Rs 395 crore, the film is unlikely to emerge as a hit

But on the day of its release, almost immediately after the first show, Adipurush started facing negativity and trolling. The film, also starring Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan, came under fire for controversial dialogues by Manoj Muntashir. To make matters worse, the film’s shoddy VFX and bad character design neither appealed to the youth, nor respected the sentiments of a generation which still reveres Ramanand Sagar’s TV classic Ramayan.

The criticism reflected on the film’s box office over the weekend. Despite a big start on Friday, the film saw its collections dip on second day, when it minted Rs 65 crore nett all India. Its Hindi version showed no growth, with Rs 38 crore on Saturday. On Sunday, when collections were supposed to hit the roof, Adipurush (Hindi) yet again remained stable at Rs 38 crore, failing to register any growth.

The ripple effect was evident even in Adipurush’s global box office, as its worldwide gross pretty much stagnated. After a jubilant start of Rs 14o crore worldwide gross, the film managed to put Rs 100 crore each over the next two days, resulting in a Rs 340 crore weekend. By Wednesday, T-Series claimed the film had crossed Rs 395 crore worldwide.

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Despite the negativity, poor reviews and a national controversy, what kept Adipurush afloat over the weekend was the heavy advance bookings. According to trade sources, the reason why Adipurush failed to register any growth after its opening was because there were hardly any substantial number of walk ins– the kind that is needed to multiply opening day figures. Which is why the numbers, though impressive, remained stable.

The advance sales of Adipurush also got a huge boost with celebrities stepping in to buy tickets. Ranbir Kapoor, Ram Charan and Ananya Birla among others bought 10,000 tickets to showcase the film to underprivileged children. In addition to this, the makers also reportedly reserved 12,000 ‘Hanuman seats’, as a mark of respect. The move pushed the sales further and generated a keen interest among the audience to watch the film as soon as it releases.

But, once the heavy advance booking till Sunday was done with, the film’s real test began on Monday– when Adipurush nosedived. The film got little on-ground support, as the widespread criticism of Adipurush dominated news cycles and reached WhatsApp groups. Sentiments were hurt and a section was indifferent to the film, which was evident on Monday when it recorded a sharp fall of 75 percent. The film was reduced to netting a single digit figure.

The numbers are best put in perspective with Pathaan. The Shah Rukh Khan starrer opened at Rs 57 crore (all India) and went on to record its first Monday of a whopping Rs 26 crore nett. Pathaan’s first Monday numbers were achieved after a five-day extended weekend collection of Rs 280 crore.

Pathaan’s first Tuesday was around Rs 23 crore, while that of Adipurush (all versions) is around Rs 10 crore. Adipurush is now likely to plummet further as it will crawl to put up a decent total at the box office.  The film has so far earned around Rs 247 crore (all India nett), with Hindi collections in the range of Rs 122 crore– a stunningly low figure for a big-scale epic.

The best shot at any record that the Hindi version of the film can aim to break now is that of Ranbir Kapoor-Shraddha Kapoor’s Tu Jhooti Main Makkaar, a rom-com which minted Rs 149 crore. As the negativity increases and the controversy refuses to subside, it is now impossible that Adipurush will manage to reach anywhere close to its mammoth budget with theatrical earnings.