 "Black Panther, Aiyaary box-office collections: Marvel's film races ahead with Rs 15 cr; Neeraj Pandey's film trails at Rs 7 cr")
16 February saw two big releases in India: Sidharth Malhotra-Manoj Bajpayee starrer Aiyaary and Marvel’s first ever black superhero film Black Panther. It was the Hollywood release however — the Ryan Coogler directorial Black Panther — which raced ahead at the domestic box-office and collected a total Rs 15.71, revealed leading trade analyst Taran Adarsh.
Malhotra’s Aiyaary has been having a seemingly dull run compared to Black Panther as it raked in a total of Rs 7.40 crore at the box office, according to Adarsh.
This makes Aiyaary Malhotra’s lowest opening day grosser yet; even lower than his two releases from last year. (While A Gentleman opened to a business of Rs 4.04 crore, Ittefaq garnered Rs 4.05 crore at the box-office on its opening day). Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya and Letitia Wright. It is a one of a kind offering from the Marvel Cinematic Universe because it not only tells a story from the perspective of a person of colour, but also is set in a milieu outside of America, which is an exception when it comes to Marvel films. Aiyaary, directed by Neeraj Pandey, also stars Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, Rakul Preet Singh, Adil Hussain and Pooja Chopra.