An adult-rated film, nearly three-and-a-half hours long, and relentless violence—Animal had many factors going against it. But four days since its release, Ranbir Kapoor’s action drama has reportedly amassed Rs. 246 crore across languages. This, despite Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s directorial venture being criticised for its violence and misogyny.

Bihar-based exhibitor Vishek Chauhan says Kapoor’s anti-hero protagonist is precisely why the film is doing unimaginable business.

“Sandeep Reddy Vanga flips the tools of commercial cinema. You have a protagonist, who is a villain, but the audiences are rooting for him. It takes you back to Shah Rukh Khan in Baazigar [1993]. Secondly, he projects his male characters as alpha male. You can call them chauvinist, sexist; they control their environment and women. The wife is shown as meek and docile. This connects with the male audiences, and that is the audience watching the film. In my theatre, so far, the female audience is [only] 10 per cent,” he says. 

Distributor-exhibitor Raj Bansal says he had expected the action drama—also starring Anil Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna and Bobby Deol —to open at Rs. 35 crore. “I felt the film’s collection would be less because of the length, the ‘A’ certificate, violence and disturbing dialogues. But the film earned Rs. 55 crore on the opening day. Even on Monday, it collected about Rs. 40 crore,” he says, surprised.

The trade expects Animal to enter the Rs. 500-crore club, and even challenge Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan and Sunny Deol’s Gadar 2’s lifetime domestic collections.

Chauhan shares, “Amit-ji [Amitabh Bachchan] became [an icon] because he was the angry young man, who represented the common man. Today’s youth is jobless. What they really want is respect, and this is what Sandeep serves them. Animal can challenge Pathaan and Gadar 2’s records. It has enough days till December 21 [when Dunki releases].”