Fighter box office prediction: After War, Hrithik Roshan-Siddharth Anand poised to deliver another blockbuster, to cross Rs 100 crore mark over long weekend

Film trade expert Taran Adarsh, who is “confident” about Fighter’s success at the box office, hinted that the film will begin its theatrical run with an earning of Rs 35 crore, and will end its long opening weekend with more than Rs 100 crore in its kitty. “The film is riding high on its star power, its novel theme and a skilled director. As of now the advance bookings for the film for Thursday are good, but January 26 would be a huge day for the film,” Taran told indianexpress.com, while adding that the film’s solo release will serve as a major factor in it becoming a winner at the ticket counters.

Also read | Fighter banned in Middle-Eastern countries; only UAE to release Hrithik Roshan actioner

At the time of writing this story, Fighter has sold over 1.85 lakh tickets for Thursday, earning Rs 5.75 crore. The film sold the maximum number of tickets in Maharashtra, followed by Delhi and Karnataka. Film producer and trade expert, Girish Johar said that the film is more of an “urban” film and has maximum traction in top-tier cities.

“It is more of an urban action film and is catering to the Tier 1 and 2 cities and the top metro cities. But the good part is that there is ample space as there is no competition. The following week also there are no major releases, so it has sufficient time to unleash itself at the box office,” Johar shared.

However, advance booking for the film is nowhere close to Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan. According to industry tracker Sacnilk, SRK’s film had sold tickets worth over Rs 23 crore on day one in pre-sales.

Hrithik Roshan and Siddharth Anand have been a hit actor-director combination. Fighter marks Hrithik’s third collaboration with Siddharth, who gave him his career-best earner with the 2019 film War. The film did business of Rs 318.01 crore. Their first collaboration, Bang Bang (2014), did business of Rs 181.03 crore.

Taran Adarsh said, “Hrithik is a very talented actor. Sometimes his films might not work, but you cannot pinpoint faults in his performance and starting with Fighter, he is going to get commercial success as well. His pairing with Siddharth is brilliant. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.” Girish Johar also confirmed that though the film might start its box office run with an earning of over Rs 30 crore, it will get “bigger” at the box office during the long weekend.

Also read | Siddharth Anand says Fighter dialogues viewed ‘out of context’ as Pak actors slam trailer of Hrithik Roshan starrer: ‘Bharat ki picture hai ye’

A little disappointment may come for the makers as the film has been denied release in Gulf countries, except UAE, because of its content. News agency ANI reported that while the reason for the ban has not been disclosed, the GCC countries including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will not be screening Fighter. Film producer and trade expert Girish Johar also tweeted, “In a setback, #Fighter officially banned across Middle East regions for theatrical release. Only UAE will release the film with PG15 classification!”