Panipat vs Pati Patni Aur Woh box office prediction: Kartik Aaryan romcom expected to open higher than Arjun Kapoor’s period drama

Kriti Sanon and Kartik Aaryan, who delivered a hit with Luka Chuppi earlier this year, are all set to clash at the box office this Friday. Kriti plays the female lead in Ashutosh Gowariker’s period drama, Panipat, starring Arjun Kapoor as the male lead Sadashiv Rao and Sanjay Dutt as the antagonist, Ahmad Shah Abdali. Kartik will be seen romancing Bhumi Pednekar and Ananya Panday in the remake of the 1978 film Pati Patni Aur Woh.

However, Kartik’s romantic comedy Patni Patni Aur Woh is expected to have a slight edge on Panipat regarding the screen count and the difference in genres. Talking about the expected opening of the two films, film trade analyst Girish Johar told Hindustan Times, “Panipat should open in the range of Rs 5.5-6.5 crore whereas Pati Patni Aur Woh should open at around Rs 7.5-8.5 crore.”

As a result, Panipat’s first-day collections may be similar to Arjun’s last hit, the 2017 film Mubarakan. It had opened at Rs 5.16 crore. It may still fall short of his highest opening film, Half Girlfriend which collected Rs 10.27 crore on day 1.

Watch: Kartik Aaryan, Ananya Panday promote Pati Patni Aur Woh at Mumbai’s college

Meanwhile, Kartik may record his highest opening with Pati Patni Aur Woh if it beats the first-day collections of his last film, Luka Chuppi. It had opened at Rs 8 crore.

As per reports, Panipat will release on around 1700 screens while Pati Patni Aur Woh will hit around 2200 screens on Friday. Girish says, “The length of Panipat is almost three hours and this limits the rotation of shows. Multiple shows can run in multiplexes as Commando 3 and Knives Out are still running and will not impact them in anyway. Comparing them, the comedy genre attracts larger audience as compared to historical. But it has been proved lately that multiple films can perform well simultaneously.”

Talking about why Pati Patni Aur Woh aims at a larger audience, Girish says, “It is a youthful light comedy, Ananya and Bhumi are doing well, Kartik is the new neighbourhood chocolate boy and has a huge fan following. It is remake of an old hit and costing is also in control. Two songs are already popular ahead of its release and it is also expected to have a good start. It is looking like a comfortable winner at the box office.”

“Ashutosh Gowariker is one of the most credible filmmakers in the industry. His craft is immense. He has made so many big films such as Jodha Akbar and Swades. Panipat looks good from its trailer. I am sure he has the right film in his hand. It may have a slow start but no one is taking away their chances at the box office in the long run,” he added.

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