Kesari box office collection: Akshay Kumar's film is 2019's biggest domestic opener, earns Rs 21.50 cr on Day 1

Akshay Kumar's Kesari depicts the Battle of Saragarhi, one of the most valiant clashes in India where a troop of soldiers took on approximately 10,000 invaders. According to trade analysts, the film, which released on 21 March, has emerged as the biggest opener of 2019 with Rs 21.50 crore.

Kesari had limited shows in the morning and noon due to Holi festivities, but the afternoon and evening shows witnessed great footfall.

Akshay Kumar in a still from Kesari. YouTube screengrab

#Kesari roars... Sets the BO on 🔥🔥🔥... Emerges the biggest opener of 2019 [so far]... After limited shows in morning/noon [#Holi festivities], the biz witnessed massive growth from 3 pm/4 pm onwards... Evening shows saw terrific occupancy... Thu ₹ 21.50 cr. India biz.

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) March 22, 2019

The film is also Kumar's second biggest opener after Gold (Rs 25.25 crore). Kesari has outperformed Gully Boy, Total Dhamaal and even Captain Marvel in terms of opening day earnings.

Top *Opening Day* biz - 2019... 1. #Kesari ₹ 21.50 cr [Thu] 2. #GullyBoy ₹ 19.40 cr [Thu] 3. #TotalDhamaal ₹ 16.50 cr 4. #CaptainMarvel ₹ 13.01 cr Note: ₹ 10 cr+ openers. India biz.#Kesari is Akshay Kumar’s second biggest opener, after #Gold [₹ 25.25 cr; #IndependenceDay]. — taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) March 22, 2019

Directed by Anurag Singh and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Apoorva Mehta, Karan Johar and Sunil Khetarpal, Kesari also stars Parineeti Chopra, Mir Sarwar, Vansh Bharadwaj, Jaspreet Singh, Vivek Saini and Vikram Kochhar in supporting roles.