'Runway 34' Box Office Collection Day 1: Film turns Ajay Devgn's lowest opener in a decade

The film industry is seeking to bounce back from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, that has gone on for two years. Amid a decline in the number of daily cases, the restrictions have been lifted, but are Bollywood films still finding it hard to pull in audiences again? The Kashmir Files, Sooryavanshi, and Gangubai Kathiawadi have done well at the box office, but the question now arises on whether these were exceptions. 

After Bachchhan Paandey and Jersey failed to live up to the expectations, all eyes were on the Eid releases, Runway 34 and Heropanti 2. However, the two films too did not have the best openings at the box office. As far as the Ajay Devgn-Amitabh Bachchan-starrer is concerned, the movie took a slow start at the box office and has earned around the opening of films like Tezz in 2012 for the Singham star.

Runway 34 box office collections day 1

Runway 34, as per a report on Box Office India, was likely to earn around Rs 3-3.25 crore at the box office on day 1, according to the early estimates. Some reports have claimed that this figure could go up to Rs 3.50 crore at the most.

The collections are unimpressive and the opening figures are one of the lowest for Ajay in the past decade. To understand how low these collections are, one can go back to the figures achieved by his popular franchise movies like Singham Returns and Golmaal Again, which had earned over Rs 30 crore on day 1. 

In recent years, his films like Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior and Total Dhamaal had opened in the Rs 15 crore range, while others like Raid and De De Pyaar De had collected around the Rs 10-crore mark on their first day.

A film, which only had his extended cameo, Gangubai Kathiawadi, had also opened much better, at Rs 10.50 crore, and this too was in the COVID-19 pandemic era. Thus, the opening day collections of Runway 34 have left a lot to be desired.

The film received good reviews from celebrities and a section of netizens too hailed the movie. It remains to be seen if that would play a part in the movie witnessing a turnaround over the weekend.

Runway 34 cast and other details

Ajay is also the director and producer, apart from starring as a pilot in the movie. The plot revolves around a court case about two pilots navigating a turbulent flight.  Apart from Amitabh Bachchan, the film also stars Rakul Preet Singh, Boman Irani, Angira Dhar, Aakanksha Singh, among others.