Box office: 'Love Aaj Kal' opens at Rs. 12 crore
Imtiaz Ali's much-awaited film Love Aaj Kal, starring Sara Ali Khan and Kartik Aaryan, has recorded a decent opening day collection at the box office, thanks to Valentine's Day. The movie, a modern-day take on Imtiaz's own 2009 film by the same name, has reportedly minted an impressive Rs. 12.40 crore on its first day of release, despite poor reviews. Here are more details.
According to reports, the movie benefited largely because of a Valentine's Day release. Had it been a regular day release, its collection would reportedly have been restricted to Rs. 8.5 crore. However, reports also add that the movie is unlikely to gain momentum over the weekend. According to Box Office India, the movie witnessed a 20-25% occupancy in the morning shows.
In terms of box-office performance, Love Aaj Kal would come as a relief for director Imtiaz, whose last film Jab Harry Met Sejal was considered a critical and commercial debacle, with a total box office collection of Rs. 64 crore. The film, which starred Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma, was expected to perform well, but failed to impress audiences as well as critics.
Notably, Love Aaj Kal has also brought the biggest opening day collection for Kartik. The actor's previous best opening day collection came with Pati Patni Aur Woh (2019), which earned Rs. 9 crore on day one (Rs. 86 crore in total).
Interestingly, Love Aaj Kal marks the first onscreen collaboration between Sara and Kartik. It is also the actors' first outing with Imtiaz. Much like the original one, the new movie is also set in two separate time periods, this time in 1990 and 2020, exploring relationships then and now. The movie also stars Randeep Hooda and Arushi Sharma, who has previously worked in Tamasha.
Box office performance notwithstanding, Love Aaj Kal has been unable to impress critics and audiences, with people pointing out loopholes in the movie's screenplay, and criticizing Sara and Kartik's acting. On the other hand, the original Love Aaj Kal, which starred Deepika Padukone and Sara's father Saif Ali Khan in the lead, became a favorite among the audiences and was also a box-office success.
