Mission Raniganj deserves to be seen by people, and it is now hoped that the massive number of people who viewed the movie yesterday will spread good word of mouth in the days to come.
Mission Raniganj did well on Friday, bringing in 5 crores*. This is similar to what the picture collected last Sunday, which was actually the best day for it. On National Cinema Day, audiences attended in large numbers, and auditorium occupancy was at least three to four times higher. Because Friday was National Cinema Day, tickets were offered for Rs. 99/= at the majority of properties, resulting in multiple houseful shows around the country, which was a promising omen.
The Akshay Kumar-starring movie took in about 1.50 crores on Thursday, so the gain on Friday in terms of takings is a factor of three, and the increase in attendance is about tenfold. Since the movie is a word-of-mouth endeavor, there have been rumors that it may have planned a strategy to release on National Cinema Day itself. While at least 10 crores would have come on the release day, the momentum would have maintained in days to come.
Let’s not forget that there is a significant cricket match between India and Pakistan today, so there would have been a significant decline anyhow. Then, one wonders how that perception management would have been carried out in order for the movie to recover starting on Sunday. However, these are all ifs and buts, and what this well-made movie does next will determine the outcome. Mission Raniganj deserves to be seen by people, and it is now hoped that the massive number of people who viewed the movie yesterday will spread good word of mouth in the days to come.
By the end of the second week, the movie hopes to surpass the 30 crore threshold, where it now stands at 23 crores*.