'Batwara 1947' lags behind 'Awarapan 2,' opens slow at ₹5.7cr
What's the story
Sunny Deol's latest film, Batwara 1947, opened to mixed reviews on Friday. Despite the audience praising Deol's performance, the partition drama lagged behind Emraan Hashmi's Awarapan 2 at the box office. The Rajkumar Santoshi directorial collected ₹5.75cr (net) across 8,721 shows in India on its opening day, per Sacnilk. Its domestic gross collection stands at ₹6.84cr and worldwide gross at ₹8.34cr.
Occupancy details
'Batwara 1947' fails to impress on Day 1
Despite its rich premise, Batwara 1947 struggled to pick up momentum at the box office.
The film registered low occupancy levels of 7-12% for daytime shows, which improved to 25% for night screenings.
In contrast, Awarapan 2's night shows had an impressive occupancy rate of 75%.
The romantic drama earned over ₹21cr net on its opening day.
Santoshi's film is also facing competition from the Hollywood blockbuster Spider-Man: Brand New Day, released in India on July 30.
Film details
Everything to know about partition drama
Batwara 1947 is based on Asghar Wajahat's drama Jis Lahore Nai Vekhya, O Jamya E Nai.
The film marks Preity Zinta's return to the big screen after a hiatus of eight years.
Apart from Deol and Zinta, it also stars Shabana Azmi, Karan Deol, Ali Fazal, Abhimanyu Singh, Khushi Hajare, Kanikka Kapur, and Isha Sandhir in pivotal roles.
It was released on August 14 (Partition Day).