Akshay Kumar starrer "Special 26" might not cross the ₹100 crore mark at the box office, but is creating records at key circuits in India.
The heist drama directed by Neeraj Pandey has pushed down the earnings of Akshay's last release "Khiladi 786" in Mumbai. In three weeks, "Special 26" earned approximately ₹23.25 crore from Mumbai theatres, whereas "Khiladi 786" earned around ₹21 crore, according to Box Office India.
"Khiladi 786" was released in more number of screens as compared to "Special 26" and didn't face much competition at the box office. But his recent release invited tough competition from "ABCD: Any Body Can Dance", which was released on the same day.
Still, Akshay's recently released film managed to surpass the business of "Khiladi 786" in Mumbai.
Also in Mysore, the film emerged as the second biggest grosser for Akshay after collecting approximately ₹4.10 crore in four weeks, beating action film "Rowdy Rathore".
"Rowdy Rathore" released last year in June opened with a huge response at theatres across India. In four weeks, it raked in approximately ₹3.45 crore from the Mysore circuit, which is ₹65 lakh less than "Special 26".
Akshay's comedy film "Housefull 2" topped the Mysore circuit with ₹5.35 crore followed by "Special 26".
The film, based on a real-life incident, would have performed better if released across several more screens and do away with the competition from "ABCD" and "Kai Po Che!"
The film has almost finished its run at domestic box offices. It has become the second top grosser film of 2013 after "Race 2".
Apart from Akshay, "Special 26" also features Kajal Agarwal, Jimmy Shergill, Manoj Bajpai, Anupam Kher Divya Dutta, Rajesh Sharma and Kishor Kadam in important roles.