Maidaan box office day 1 early report: Ajay Devgn-starrer pales in comparison to Shaitaan, earns around Rs 5 crore

Facing tough competition from Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, which also released on the same date, Maidaan struggled to match its rival’s success, as Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff’s action entertainer raked in Rs 10.54 crore (early estimates) on day one. Maidaan’s collection also pales in comparison to Ajay’s last released Shaitaan as it minted Rs 14.75 crore on its opening day.

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Despite its box office performance, Maidaan has garnered praise from both critics and audiences. Renowned writer Javed Akhtar took to social media to laud Ajay Devgn’s performance in the film, calling it a ‘must-watch.’ He wrote, “It is a true story that will make every Indian proud of our certain national achievements that unfortunately most of us don’t know about. A must-watch. Congratulations to producer Boney Kapoor, director Amit Sharma and to Ajay Devgn who has given a mind-blowing performance.”

The Indian Express’ Shubhra Gupta gave the film 2.5 stars and wrote, “The three hour long film feels like a stretch in places where the drama amped-up-just-for-effect and the blaring background music threatens to overpower the action. Not all the musical stretches are terrible, though: the one which accompanies the discovery of a player in an unexpected quarter early in the film, for example, is lovely. But after a point, it becomes too loud, too much, and you feel like clapping your hands over your ears.”

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Apart from Ajay Devgn, Maidaan also stars Priyamani, Gajraj Rao, and Rudranil Ghosh. The movie is directed by Amit Sharma.