WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE has been in the wars since launch as its been a mission to get the film completed and on release there were issues as well as the distributors seemed to sleeping with holdovers and even regional films were getting the edge over it. The advances opened late because of this and the response was nothing and it looked liked it had gone wrong in a big way.

The film has been playing catch up and it did well to get 3.50 crore nett in paid previews which looked pretty much impossible in the morning. The opening is not good also but the film will improve as the day goes along and like the paid previews, it should come out with some sort of number from where the film has a chance to succeed at the box office. It is a holiday for Muharram which should help its cause.

The trailer of the film looked hugely entertaining but the mass audience probably saw it as a bit spoofy and difficult to understand what the film is about. Also films based on films or the industry don't connect well with the masses and this would have held back the opening. Eventually though, if the film has good comedy, it will score and its about the response of the family audience over the weekend which will decide the fate of the film. The opening day now has to get to a level where it will stay in the race.

The film is picking up after a very low starting point and wherever the final day ends, it will be much more than what it looked like before the paid previews started though lower than the pre release expectations from the film. The expectations were around 17-18 crore nett but where it stood on the opening show, it looks a dream. The film does have momentum though and lets see where it goes through the day.

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WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE did well on its first day as it collected 15 crore nett apprx with Hindi belts scoring well and singles screens in UP and Bihar also doing well after a long time. It was a holiday for Muharram. So, these pockets would have been aided by the holiday factor. The film also has around 3.5-3.75 crore nett from the paid previews which takes the film to around 18.75 crore nett.

The film has seen issues since launch with budget constraints and a race against time as it had to be released in the first half of the year due to the digital deal and it just about made it on time. There were release issues with the holdover films which has meant the film has a weaker release than BHOOTH BANGLA, despite having a potentially bigger audience. Then after this, the advances were bit of a disaster but now the film is looking at almost 19 crore nett up on the board after day one which would have looked a dream on Thursday.

It is the third best opening of the year after DHURANDHAR THE REVENGE and BORDER 2. Since there is a holiday factor in play, the growth will be limited on Saturday. In fact it would be even be a solid result if the film manages the same number as Friday on Saturday as these mass pockets in UP, Bihar and Rajasthan have out performed and are pretty certain to drop on Saturday. If the film is to go up, it will be down to multiplexes of the metros.

The film will be another 50 crore nett weekend for Akshay Kumar after JOLLY LLB 3 and BHOOTH BANGLA and then it will down to the run it can get after that. JOLLY LLB 3 did reasonably well while BHOOTH BANGLA also did very well and time will tell where WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE will stand as against the other two. Basically after three days, all three films will be standing in similar positions.

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WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE saw very good collections on Saturday as it collected around 20 crore nett which takes the total of the film to 38.75 crore nett including the paid previews. The film is scoring above BHOOTH BANGLA till date which collected around 54.75 crore nett including paid previews till Sunday night and WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE will be well above that.

It was a holiday on Friday in parts and where Friday was a normal day, the film has growth of 50-60% which is a very good sign. Also these Muslim dominated centers, where Muharram is very effective as a holiday, are steady on Saturday; some are same and some are even a little higher. The film is doing well all over with the usual suspects for the genre of West Bengal and pockets of South being lower. The core is very good with Mumbai collecting 6.75-7 crore nett on Saturday and North (Delhi/UP and East Punjab) going to around 6 crore nett.

Then you have superb collections in Rajasthan and Bihar making it a good picture for the film all round. This is a film that could have been lying in the cans part complete but here after day two it is looking like a potential HIT film and maybe the fourth of the year. The collections and trend at the moment ensure a success and lets see where it goes over time.

The collections of WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE till date are as follows.

Thursday - 3,75,00,000 apprx

Friday - 15,00,00,000 apprx

Saturday - 20,00,00,000 apprx

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WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE had a good first weekend collecting almost 64 crore nett including paid previews. The film put up a total of almost 25 crore nett on Sunday which could have been higher but generally collections slowed a little more than normal in the evening and it was the case with the holdover fims also. Those films eventually came out flat on Sunday but with the mass circuits on side, WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE still managed to get 20% plus growth.

The film is very good in Mumbai, North, CP, CI Rajasthan and Bihar while others a little less but that is expected as comedy works less in those zones. The collections are well ahead of BHOOTH BANGLA and JOLLY LLB 3 and before release it had looked like the numbers of those films would be hard to beat. As far as Akshay Kumar starrers go post pandemic, the figures are only less than SOORYAVANSHI and HOUSEFULL 5 but those were bigger films.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE is like a film in a film and will have a lot industry jargon and these sort of films have a history of not doing well as the public finds them a bit spoofy. Its hard to recall a film based or film industry based film that has done well. Here the comedy looks to have superseded this angle but obviously that response in advances will have something to do with how it looked a film in a film in the trailer. Now its about where the film goes over the weekdays and if Monday can hold at around 50% of Friday, it would be a good result as Friday was bumped up by the holiday.

The Overseas market also saw a strong trend as it started with almost $500k on day one and may end with almost $2 million with Gulf leading the way.

The collections of WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE till date are as follows.

Thursday - 3,75,00,000 apprx

Friday - 15,00,00,000 apprx

Saturday - 20,00,00,000 apprx

Sunday - 24,75,00,000 apprx