'Kalank' slows down post big opening; sees ordinary first weekend

Despite a huge star cast and extensive promotions, the multi-starrer film 'Kalank' minted only Rs 66.03 cores in five days of its run at the domestic box office.

Indian film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared the box office collection of the film on his Twitter handle. He wrote, "#Kalank is rejected... Has a lacklustre *extended* opening weekend... Will find it difficult to sustain on weekdays... The arrival of #AvengersEndgame [on Fri] will hit biz hard... Wed 21.60 cr, Thu 11.45 cr, Fri 11.60 cr, Sat 9.75 cr, Sun 11.63 cr. Total: Rs 66.03 cr. India biz."

The period drama opened to a good start and became the highest opener of 2019 so far. However, it failed to pull the audience to the big screens on the next few days. The later days' collections saw a big dip as compared to its Day 1 collection of Rs 21.60 crore.

On the second day of its release, the film earned Rs 11.45 crore. The third day added almost similar numbers to the film's business, as it minted 11.60 crore. The film witnessed a further drop in its business and minted Rs 9.75 crore on Saturday, taking its total collection to 54.40 crore.

Although the film entered into Rs 50 crore clubs on its fourth day, it didn't witness a big jump on Sunday and only added Rs 11.63 crore to its total collections.

'Kalank' may witness a further dip in its business in the coming days as the film 'Avengers: Endgame' is also releasing this Friday.

Besides being the biggest opener of the year, the film also became the highest opener for actors 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 include 'Kesari' (Rs 21.06 crore), 'Gully Boy' (Rs 19.40 crore), and 'Total Dhamaal' (Rs 16.50 crore), Adarsh revealed.

When filmmaker Karan Johar announced 'Kalank', fans were excited about the project. But even with extensive promotions and a stellar star cast, the film's hype failed to translate into the numbers at the box office. The film also brought back the hit jodi of Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit on the big screen almost after two decades.

'Kalank' is a period drama set in pre-independent India. 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.

The film 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.