Begum Jaan failed to attract audience in the opening weekend despite being a star-studded movie with a message. The Vidya Balan-starrer collected just Rs.11.48 crore over the long weekend. The number is lower when compared to other female centric films released in 2017 like
Naam Shabana and
Phillauri.
The film opened with Rs.3.94 crore and could not leverage from the Good Friday and Easter holidays. The earnings dipped further on Day 2, collecting Rs.3.51 crore. Sunday was no party either as it only managed Rs.4.03 crore, taking the 3-day collection to Rs.11.48 crore. Begum Jaan was released in 1,200 screens across the domestic market.
The movie is written and directed by National Award-winning director Srijit Mukherji and produced by Mukesh Bhatt and Play Entertainment. The film also stars Ila Arun, Naseeruddin Shah, Rajat Kapoor and Chunky Pandey in significant roles.
There was a positive buzz around the movie and the trailer was well received. Begum Jaan fared with good reviews, but the footfall was average. The film faced fierce competition from The Fast and the Furious 8. The ongoing IPL tournament was also considered a big reason for the film’s poor business.
Though Begum Jaan is made with a controlled cost, it had the stake of maintaining the box-office’s portfolio for the Hindi release as it was clashing with Fast 8. Looking at the collections of both the movies, Fast 8 fared way ahead of Begum Jaan.
Begum Jaan can’t be termed as a flop venture for its makers as it recovered a major portion of its cost through music and satellite rights, but a lot more was expected of the movie. The film was an important release for Vidya Balan considering her last release, Kahaani 2, was considered a flop. Begum Jaan even failed to beat the opening week collection of Kahaani 2, which brought in Rs.14 crores.
