Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta’s period drama Batwara 1947 witnessed a massive setback at the box office, registering a steep decline on its crucial first Monday. Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and backed by Aamir Khan, the Partition-era film has failed to maintain its momentum after an underwhelming opening weekend, collecting just Rs 2 crore net on Day 4.
The film kicked off its box office journey on Friday (Day 1) with an opening collection of Rs 5.75 crore, according to industry tracker Sacnilk. It saw a promising surge on Saturday (Day 2), picking up Rs 13.50 crore. However, the momentum slowed down on Sunday (Day 3) as the film recorded Rs 7.25 crore—a 22 percent drop from its Saturday numbers—partly due to a reduced show count. Having failed the Monday test with a dramatic 72 percent drop from Sunday, Batwara 1947 is now struggling to cross the Rs 30 crore mark.
Four-day box office trajectory
Across its first four days in theatres, Batwara 1947 opened with Rs 5.75 crore on its first Friday, followed by its peak earning of Rs 13.50 crore on Saturday. The performance dipped to Rs 7.25 crore on Sunday before sliding further to Rs 2 crore on its first Monday. This brings the film’s total four-day domestic net collection to Rs 28.50 crore, while its overall gross collection has reached Rs 33.95 crore in India.
Strong reviews fail to counter tough competition
In Batwara 1947, Sunny Deol portrays Sikandar Mirza, a Muslim man who migrates to Pakistan in the aftermath of Partition, alongside strong performances from Preity Zinta and Shabana Azmi. Despite receiving favourable reviews from film critics for its poignant storytelling, the movie has struggled to draw large crowds to theatres. Adding to its box office hurdles is stiff competition from Awarapan 2, which continues its dominant theatrical run by collecting Rs 9.25 crore on Monday alone, bringing its four-day India net collection to Rs 91 crore as it steadily closes in on the Rs 100 crore milestone.
