Mardaani 3 Box Office Collection Day 1: Rani Mukerji returned to theatres on Friday with Mardaani 3, the third film in her popular crime thriller franchise. The release is special for the actor, as it marks 30 years of her journey in Hindi cinema. Coming after the success of Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, which also earned her a National Award, expectations from the film were naturally high.
Once again, Rani reprises her role as Shivani Shivaji Roy, the fearless police officer. The film deals with themes of sexism and patriarchy through a fresh investigation. While critics have responded positively to her performance and the film’s intent, the audience turnout on the first day remained limited.
Mardaani 3 Box Office Collection Day 1
According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the Mardaani 3 box office collection day 1 stands at Rs 3.8 crore net. This opening is considered weak, especially since the film is reportedly made on a budget of around Rs 75 crore. Trade analysts were also surprised by the lack of growth compared to the previous instalment.
Mardaani 2 (which released in 2019) had also opened at Rs 3.8 crore. Despite a seven-year gap, Mardaani 3 has failed to show any improvement in its opening-day numbers. This indicates that the franchise has not expanded its initial audience base.
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The film was released across nearly 2345 shows across India. It recorded an overall occupancy of 18.01 percent on Day 1. Morning shows opened slow at just 8.97 percent. Occupancy improved slightly in the afternoon at 14.78 percent and rose further to 17.13 percent in the evening. Night shows performed the best, ending the day with 31.14 percent occupancy.
In terms of regions, Delhi-NCR had the highest number of shows at 526, with an occupancy of 18.75 percent. Mumbai followed with 381 shows and reported better footfalls, registering 26.75 percent occupancy. These numbers suggest that while the film has visibility in metro cities, mass turnout is still missing.
Competition From Border 2 Affects Mardaani 3
Despite being backed by Yash Raj Films, Mardaani 3 has received a limited number of screens. One major reason is the strong hold of Border 2 at the box office. The Sunny Deol-led war drama is still running across nearly 5,000 screens nationwide and continues to attract audiences. On its eighth day, Border 2 collected around Rs 11 crore, far higher than Mardaani 3’s Day 1 numbers.
However, when compared to Rani Mukerji’s recent films, Mardaani 3 has performed better. Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway earned Rs 1.27 crore on its opening day, while Bunty Aur Babli 2 collected Rs 2.8 crore. Hichki had opened at Rs 3.3 crore, making Mardaani 3 a slightly stronger starter.
Among other female-led films, the results are mixed. Kareena Kapoor’s The Buckingham Murders earned Rs 1.15 crore on Day 1, and Yami Gautam’s Haq collected Rs 1.75 crore. However, Mardaani 3 trails Yami’s Article 370, which opened at Rs 5.9 crore, and Alia Bhatt starrer Jigra, which earned Rs 4.25 crore.
The weekend performance will now be crucial for Mardaani 3. With no major releases until Shahid Kapoor’s O Romeo arrives during the Valentine’s Day weekend, the film has a chance to improve its numbers if word of mouth turns stronger.
