Hyderabad: Two major Bollywood films Article 370 backed by Yami Gautam and Priyamani and Crakk featuring Vidyut Jammwal and Arjun Rampal hit the theatres on the same day on Friday, February 23. The box office clash was bound to hamper business and lead to comparisons between the films despite them being of different genres. As per the Monday box office collections, Yami Gautam starrer Article 370 outperformed Crakk and minted a decent amount of money.
Aditya Suhas Jambhale directorial Article 370, produced by Aditya Dhar, performed well at the box office on its first Monday, grossing approximately Rs 3.25 crores. While the Yami starrer's numbers are almost 40% lower than the first day, the loss from the fair value of the first day is nearly zero because there was a flat Rs 99 plan on day one that considerably increased the numbers. After four days of its release, the box office total of Article 370 stands at Rs 26.15 crores, with week one expected to close around Rs 34-35 crores.
With no substantial competition in the following week, except for the Hollywood release Dune 2, Article 370 is likely to be the most popular release for the second week running. The hold over the second weekend will decide the film's long-term trajectory. Because of the tight budget, the political thriller will most likely be profitable.