Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt-starrer "Udta Punjab" has got a good opening at the worldwide box office. The opening day occupancy in India is at par with Shah Rukh Khan's "Fan" and Akshay Kumar's "Housefull 3," while at the UK and UAE-GCC box office the film has opened to good occupancy.
"Udta Punjab," directed by Abhishek Chaubey, is about the drug issue in Punjab. The film, surrounded by controversies before its release, opened to great reviews in India, UK and in the Gulf region. The controversy, positive reviews, and strong word of mouth from Bollywood celebrities helped the film to open on a good note at the box office.
According to trade analysts, exhibitors and distributors, the controversy has helped Shahid-starrer to open well at the UK box office. Rohit Shelatkar, co-founder of Grand Showbiz and Entertainment Ltd, the overseas distributor of the film told Press Trust of India that the film is running in the UK with a strong word of mouth.
"With a strong word of mouth and the publicity that we have done, the movie hopefully should do well," Shelakar said, agreeing that the film had a good opening at the overseas box office.
"Udta Punjab" opening day box office collection at the UAE-GCC box office is also decent. The film minted Rs. 59.33 crore (AED 325,000) from its opening day run at the UAE-GCC box office.
"#UdtaPunjab has a GOOD start in UAE [18+ classification]. Collects AED 325,000 [₹ 59.33 lacs] on 51 sites. Oman & Kuwait to open next week," trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted.
The film, produced by Anurag Kashyap's Phantom Pictures and Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Telefilms, is a hard-hitting take on the issue of drug trafficking in Punjab.
[1 lakh = 100,000 | 1 crore = 10 million | 100 crore = 1 billion]
