Dabangg 3 box office collection day 1: Salman Khan film starts off on sluggish note

Salman Khan's much-awaited movie Dabangg 3 has opened to sluggish response in the morning shows, but its collection has witnessed some amount of growth at the Indian box office in the later shows.

Dabangg 3 is the third instalment in the super-hit Dabang series, which generated a lot of curiosity about the movie. Its promos also grabbed many eyeballs and skyrocketed its expectations. But, the film suffered from low-key marketing, a lack of promotional plan and weak music and lower screen count than Dabangg and Dabangg 2. Many Salman Khan fans complained of them for these factors.

The aspects resulted in poor pre-sale in the advance booking for Dabangg 3. Another reason for the poor booking is that Salman Khan enjoys a huge fan following from the Muslim community, but many of them were busy with the protest against the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Bill), trade experts predicted that it might take a beating on its collection at the Indian box office on the first day.

As predicted, Dabangg 3 opened to an average response in the early morning shows. The Salman Khan and Sonakshi Sinha starrer has reportedly registered 40 to 50 percent occupancy in multiplexes and 50-60 in single screens in some areas, which are least affected by the protest. But the footfalls are as low as 5 to 10 percent in other areas, where the people are holding protest against the CAA.

Overall, Dabangg 3 reportedly recorded an average of 20 percent occupancy in the morning shows across the domestic market in the morning show. But the movie witnessed some improvements in its collection in the matinee and afternoon shows. The film has got mixed response from viewers, who say it is a treat for Salman Khan fans. Its business is expected to see bigger growth in the evening shows.

As per early trends, Dabangg 3 is predicted to collect Rs 28 to 30 crore net at the domestic box office on the first day. If this is going to be its final number, the Prabhu Dheva-directed movie beat the records of Dabangg and Dabangg 2, but it will not be landing in the list of top five biggest openers of Salman Khan.

However, Dabangg 3 is likely to be in the top biggest Bollywood openers of 2019. But it should be seen whether it will beat the record of Akshay Kumar's Mission Mangal and land in the third rank in the list of top five movies of the year.