DEVA collected 5.50 crore nett on day one which is a little better than what it looked like on Friday morning but still not really much of a number for a film in this zone. The film looked to be around 4 crore nett on the morning collections but it has managed to get to around 5.50 crore nett by the close of business.

These sort of films need better opening numbers as they are not in the zone which are going to show the huge growth over the weekend which is needed from this opening number. The last Shahid Kapoor film, TERI BAATON MEIN AISA ULJHA JIYA, opened at 6.50 crore nett with some help from offers. So on fair value, maybe that's just a little better than DEVA but a film of that genre has potential from a start like that.

The business of the film is restricted in the mass pockets outside Maharashtra and an action film faces a tough ride when the Hindi belts don't really perform. Also its not as if the film is strong in the Mumbai/Mahrashtra belt; its just done better than other places. Basically at the end of the day, the issue of the film is pretty much the same as the likes of ATTACK and YODHA as they don't have mass reach and the target audience is not really there due to a shift in watching habits post pandemic. These types need a song or two to give some reach for a better initial.

DEVA has reach in terms of its wide release but not the audience. Its a tough road ahead from here as its needs a huge jump on Saturday. Despite the better collections post Friday afternoon, the needed growth will be hard to come by.