GOLD had a very strong opening day of around 25.25 crore nett which is the same range as BAAGHI 2 and will be the 3rd or 4th highest opening day of the year. It is easily the highest opening day ever for Akshay Kumar as it beat the 16.98 crore nett of SINGH IS BLIING which was also released on a national holiday (Gandhi Jayanti).

The film had strong numbers in metro multiplexes which was always likely but even mass centres where normally this type would take a lesser opening opened to strong numbers due to the presence of a star like Akshay Kumar coupled with the holiday factor.

The best collections have come in Mumbai and Delhi/UP while East Punjab lost around 50 lakhs nett due to two Punjabi films MR & MRS 420 RETURNS and DAKUAAN DA MUNDA taking out a big chunk of that market not only for GOLD but SATYAMEVA JAYATE too. Mysore and West Bengal where Akshay Kumar films tend to have lower collections have done well.

There will be a fall on day two for GOLD as the holiday factor comes out and it goes into a working day and that too Thursday but it remains to be seen where the collections go on Thursday. The multiplex audience should be back over the weekend as long as the content is accepted.

SATYAMEVA JAYATE has also done very well collecting around 18.50 crore nett which is a huge number for this film. It has scored all over with all circuits recording very strong collections even the ones dominated by multiplexes. Mysore is a bit low but that is expected but it looks to have edged out GOLD in Bihar, Assam and Odisha while collections in Rajasthan, CP Berar and CI are in the same range.

It is easily the highest opening day for a John Abraham starrer be it a solo starrer or multistarrer and will be 5tth or 6th highest opening day of the year. Though the collections are lower than GOLD the footfalls will be just 5% less as it has a larger chunk of business coming from single screens and smaller multiplexes. The key is now how well the film can sustain and it does not have to do much work from this sort of start to be a success but eventually for all to benefit from it has to sustain at some level as that will mean some appreciation for the film rather.
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SATYAMEVA JAYATE has come out second best in the clash with GOLD which was always likely but if we take out the clash factor and look it as a stand alone number then 18.50 crore nett is a huge number for a film like SATYAMEVA JAYATE. This happens in a clash as its about which film come on top but SATYAMEVA JAYATE has surpassed the expectations that anyone could have had from the the film on day one. There have been clashes like RAEES vs KAABIL, RUSTOM vs MOHENJO DARO and AE DIL HAI MUSHKIL vs SHIVAAY when the loser in the clash has come out with low collections. SATYAMEVA JAYATE has done far better than the likes of  KAABIL, MOHANJO DARO and SHIVAAY and these were all driven by big stars.

The Independence Day holiday has boosted collections and its a huge holiday for the mass audience as single screens run at high occupancy but its multiplexes which have taken it to the 17 crore nett number as if these remained low then this sort of number was impossible. The numbers are less than GOLD at multiplexes but still all multiplexes have recorded strong numbers be it in the morning or evening. The opening day is the best not only for a John Abraham solo release which is not a huge task but it is far ahead of all the multi-starrers as well.

The big question now is can the film hold at some decent level to become a winner as the first day collections are far higher than what these type of films (mid budget action films) get especially in the multiplexes. Below are the top ten opening days of John Abraham
1. Satyameva Jayate - 18,50,00,000 apprx
3. Race 2 - 14,38,00,000
4. Welcome Back - 14,19,00,000
5. Housefull 2 - 12,19,00,000
5. Dishoom - 11,00,00,000
6. Shootout At Wadala - 8,41,00,000
7. Desi Boyz - 8,05,00,000
8. Force  2 - 5,65,00,000
9. New York - 5,62,00,000
10. Dostana - 5,29,00,000