Akshay Kumar starrer Mission Mangal has earned Rs 46.44 crore at the box office until now. The film is based on the Mars Orbiter Mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Also called the Mangalyaan, it is a space probe orbiting Mars since 2014. The film, a Jagan Shakti directorial, also stars Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Nithya Menen, Kirti Kulhari, Sharman Joshi, HG Dattatreya, Vikram Gokhale and Sonakshi Sinha. Mission Mangal released alongside John Abraham starrer Batla House on the Independence Day. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted the figures of Mission Mangal. He wrote, "#MissionMangal is unstoppable on Day 2 [working day after a big holiday]. Multiplexes are terrific, driving its biz. Day 3 and 4 will be massive again. Eyes ₹ 85 cr+ total in *extended* weekend. Thu 29.16 cr, Fri 17.28 cr. Total: ₹ 46.44 cr. India biz." The Indian Express film critic Shubhra Gupta gave the film 2.5 stars in her review. She wrote, "The human interactions are the best part of the film. The downer is the science bits, clearly crafted for dummies. And it doesn’t help that the computer-graphics feel a tad tacky: after years of watching stunning space visuals in Hollywood films, the scenes here seem sub-par. But the clunkiness sort of fits too: our early space agers, Vikram Sarabhai and Abdul Kalam carried their instruments on the back of bullock-carts. Too much polish would maybe have been out of place, especially when you have a top-flight scientist conjure up the winning idea of using less fuel for the Mangal yaan by watching ‘pooris’ fluffing up even when the gas is switched off." Mission Mangal's opening day earnings have made the makers happy, and thanks to good reviews and excitement among moviegoers, the film is expected to stay strong until Sunday.
