Is Akshay Kumar's PadMan a hit or a flop? That's the one mystery that trade analyst in Bollywood are trying to solve. While it is a given that the social drama, directed by R Balki, is struggling at the box office to reach the Rs 100 crore mark - which has been a staple for recent Akshay Kumar movies, it would have not mattered if the movie has been profitable. But let's talk about it later. First let's how PadMan fared while it completed its first week run at the box office.

As per the latest update by the trade analyst Taran Adarsh, based on the figures provided by the producer, PadMan has collected Rs 62.87 crore at the box office. Here's what he had tweeted, "#PadMan fared well in Week 1... Got the advantage of partial holidays on weekdays... Will be interesting to see how it sustains in Week 2... Fri 10.26 cr, Sat 13.68 cr, Sun 16.11 cr, Mon 5.87 cr, Tue 6.12 cr, Wed 7.05 cr, Thu 3.78 cr. Total: ₹ 62.87 cr. India biz."

If you see the above figures, the movie has seen a drastic drop of almost 50% collecting only Rs 3.78 crore on Thursday, compared to the earnings of Rs 7.05 crore on Wednesday. Little underwhelming, isn't it?

Now coming to the topic we were discussing in the first para. PadMan's current collections wouldn't be considered disappointing if we had a clear idea of what the budget is. The budget given on the movie's Wikipedia page says it's Rs 20 crore which is highly implausible for a movie starring an A-lister. Only if this is true, then the movie is actually profitable now. But then there are reports that the movie has been made on a production cost of Rs 75 crore, with marketing costs of Rs 15 crore. If this case is true, then PadMan is far from profitable and needs to buckle up in the days ahead.

Tough task, though, since two big movies are already releasing this week in Aiyaary and Black Panther. Black Panther, especially, has been getting some really good reviews. So it is quite an uphill task for PadMan to sustain at the box office.

PadMan, which is Twinkle Khanna's maiden production, also stars Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte in the lead. It is based on the life of the Tamil Nadu-based social activist Arunachalam Muruganantham.

 

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 16, 2018 06:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).