Saaho box office day 1: Prabhas-starrer opens at ₹24.4 crore, is third highest Hindi opener of 2019

Saaho box office day 1: Prabhas and Shraddha Kapoor’s film has made an impressive collection on the first day of the release and is now the second highest opener ever for a south Indian film’s collection in Hindi markets.

Prabhas-Shradha Kapoor-starrer Saaho met the expectations of trade experts on Friday as the film made an opening collection of ₹24 crore. Directed by Sujeeth, Saaho is an action thriller and also stars Neil Nitin Mukesh, Chunky Panday, Jackie Shroff and Mandira Bedi.

Saaho box office day 1: Prabhas and Shraddha Kapoor have made it to the top third opener in Hindi films in 2019.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted the figures. “#Saaho has a superb Day 1... Prabhas’ superstardom post #Baahubali2 + hype surrounding the biggie + excellent advance bookings ensured fantastic numbers... Day 2 and 3 biz crucial to pack a solid weekend total... Fri ₹ 24.40 cr Nett BOC. India biz. #Hindi version.”

“Top 5 *Day 1* biz... 2019 releases...1. #Bharat ₹ 42.30 cr [Wed] 2. #MissionMangal ₹ 29.16 cr [Thu] 3. #Saaho [#Hindi] ₹ 24.40 cr [Fri] 4. #Kalank ₹ 21.60 cr [Wed] 5. #Kesari ₹ 21.06 cr [Thu] Nett BOC. India biz. #Hindi films only.”

Salman Khan’s Bharat remains on top of a list of highest openers with ₹42.3 crore, followed by Akshay Kumar’s Mission Mangal that earned ₹29.16 crore on day one of the release. Saaho has toppled Akshay’s Kesari ( ₹21) to gain the third slot on the list.

Saaho is also the second highest opener ever, after Baahubali The Conclusion, for a South Indian film’s opening collection in Hindi markets.

Experts had predicted an opening of ₹60 crore (all languages) for the film and ₹15-20 crore for the Hindi version. “The buzz is very good. Prabhas and Shraddha are among the top actors and the response to the trailer is outstanding. It is a non-festive but a very wide release in Hindi. A non-holiday opening of ₹15-20 crore would be fantastic, considering how some Bollywood actors struggle to deliver an opening of even ₹10 crore,” trade analyst Girish Johar told Hindustan Times.

Much like Prabhas’s previous blockbuster Baahubali, Saaho released in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. However, experts do not expect the film to match Baahubali collections. “It would not be fair to compare Saaho with Baahubali. It was a traditional Indian, desi mythological film. Saaho is contemporary, sleek, stylish and upmarket film. Prabhas is a star and is coming after delivering two of the biggest blockbusters but it is not right to compare them.”

Saaho opened to mixed reviews with fans praising the action sequences but a few criticising the plot and treatment of the subject. “The Prabhas and Shraddha Kapoor starrer is mostly underwhelming, with the grandeur and a few solid action stretches its only redeeming features,” Karthik Kumar wrote in his review for Hindustan Times.

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