'Kalank' crosses Rs. 50 crore mark, struggles to make a mark

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The multi-starrer 'Kalank', which turned out to be the biggest opener of 2019 so far, has been struggling to get big numbers at the domestic box office. Despite a huge star cast, it took the period drama four days to cross the Rs. 50 crore mark.

The film has earned a total of Rs. 54.40 crore so far. Indian film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared the box office figures of the film on his Twitter handle.

He wrote, "#Kalank is clearly underperforming... Dips on Day 4 [Sat]... Trending is weak, so big biz on Day 5 [Sun] is ruled out... Wed 21.60 cr, Thu 11.45 cr, Fri 11.60 cr, Sat 9.75 cr. Total: Rs 54.40 cr. India biz."

The magnum opus failed to pull the audience to the big screens on Saturday and the collections saw a big dip as compared to Wednesday.

The film became the highest opener of 2019 by minting Rs. 21.60 crore on its Day 1. Unfortunately, the second day didn't work out in favour of the movie, as it earned Rs. 11.45 crore. The third day added similar numbers to the film's business, as it minted 11.60 crores. The film witnessed a further drop in the collections and minted Rs. 9.75 crore on Saturday, taking its four-day haul to 54.40 crores.

Besides being the biggest opener of 2019, the film also became the highest opener for Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan together.

While 'Kalank' is on the top of the list of four biggest openers of this year, the other three are 'Kesari' (Rs 21.06 crore), Gully Boy (Rs 19.40 crore) and Total Dhamaal (Rs 16.50 crore), Adarsh revealed.

When Karan Johar announced 'Kalank', fans were excited to witness the magic on the big screen. But even with extensive promotions and a stellar star cast, the film's hype failed to translate into numbers at the box office.

'Kalank' also brought back the hit jodi of Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit back on the big screen after almost two decades.

The film was originally conceptualised about 15 years ago by late Yash Johar and his son Karan Johar, who has produced the film.

'Kalank' is a period drama set in pre-independent India that takes the audience on a journey of six characters who are connected by love, emotions, revenge and turbulent relationships.

The film stars Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditya Roy Kapur, Madhuri Dixit and Sanjay Dutt in the lead roles. The movie also features Kunal Khemu in a pivotal role.

'Kalank' is Alia and Varun's fourth collaboration after 'Student of the Year', 'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania', and 'Badrinath Ki Dulhania'.

Directed by Abhishek Varman, the film hit the screens on April 17.