‘Fukrey 3’ Grosses $12.6 Million

Produced by Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment, Fukrey 3 has grossed more than $12 million at the global box office in 12 days since it released on September 28. The film features Richa Chadha, Varun Sharma, Pankaj Tripathi, Manjot Singh, and Pulkit Samrat in lead roles.

Fukrey 3 released alongside two other major Indian films and the combined first weekend collection for the three films’ stood at a dismal $10 million in the country. Fukrey 3 managed to get the biggest piece of the first weekend box office collections – scoring $5.6 million. Kangana Ranaut and Raghava Lawrence’s Tamil film Chandramukhi 2 scored $3.6 million and had the second biggest share while The Vaccine War followed with $750,000 in their first weekend.

Fukrey 3

Of the $12.6 million global gross in 12 days, Fukrey 3 made gross earnings of $10 million in India alone. It also got the widest release among the three releases – 2800 screens in the country. Fukrey 3 made a decent opening of $1 million in India. Globally.

Directed by Mrigdeep Singh Lamba, Fukrey 3 is the third part of the hit comic franchise Fukrey that first won hearts in 2013 when Fukrey released. It was the beginning of an Indian comedy franchise headlined by a woman. Chadha was the biggest star in the ensemble at the time when Fukrey was being promoted. She plays Bholi Panjaban (innocent Punjabi woman) in the franchise and indulges in running flesh trade to politics and more grey areas through the course of the three films. Sharma, Samrat, and Singh play unemployed young men who often fall prey to Chadha’s antics. Tripathi has grown in his stardom since the first film and the third film offers him ample opportunities to use it well.

The new film revisits the funda made popular over the course of the first two films. While the street-smart humour remains the main comic tool, the filmmakers seem to have shifted focus to social messages instead. However, Fukrey 3 does not land anywhere close to the fun quotient of Fukrey and Fukrey Returns. In the due course, Fukrey 3 also fails to deliver the messages it initiates. Most of the comedy is also compromised in the process. Individually, the characters remain true to their identities built over the past decade, but the sum of the parts does not add to a brilliant total.

The Vaccine War

Agnihotri returned with yet another home production featuring his wife (Pallavi Joshi) – The Vaccine War and the film could only get a mere thousand screens in India initially. It had a dull opening at the ticket windows in India but the film has been picking up on word-of-mouth. In the US markets alone, the film scored around $11,000 on the opening day while it reportedly grossed $130,000 globally.

The film does not enjoy immense support that The Kashmir Files had in the opening days, but it has been garnering love amongst the scientific community in India. The director-producer of the film has confirmed that many shows are being added and the reach of The Vaccine War continues to expand even weeks after the initial release. The film has reportedly earned $2 million in a week.

The Vaccine War narrates the story of the struggles and victories of Indian scientists who fought the coronavirus pandemic and made an indigeneous vaccine in just a few months. The film also backs theories of a propaganda against an Indian vaccine. It has reportedly made $2 million in a week. The Vaccine War offers some brilliant performances from veteran actor Nana Patekar, Joshi, and Raima Sen. Patekar and Joshi play scientists in the film while Sen is a journalist.

Chandramukhi 2

Tamil film Chandramukhi 2 also released the same day, and scored $3 million in India. The film features Bollywood star Kangana Ranaut in the titular character while Raghava Lawrence and Mahima Lambiar also play important parts in the film directed by P Vasu. The film fell just a little short of grossing $8 million globally in a week.

A sequel to Vasu’s 2005 film that featured Tamil superstar Rajinikanth in the lead role. Lawrence plays the role in the new film. Jyothika, Nayanathara play important roles in the original film which also stars Prabhu, Vadivelu, Vineeth, Nassar, and Vijayakumar. Chandramukhi was widely appreciated by critics.