Daayra box office collection day 1: Kareena Kapoor’s film records lowest opening of her career

Daayra box office collection day 1: Meghna Gulzar’s directorial Daayra , which brings together Kareena Kapoor and Malayalam star Prithviraj Sukumaran for the first time on the big screen, has started its theatrical run with a slow response at the box office. The film is about two police officers who find themselves in a moral conflict following a controversial encounter killing linked to a brutal rape and murder case.

The crime thriller has recorded an estimated India net collection of ₹ 85 lakh on its opening day so far. The film is currently running across 2,332 shows in India and recorded an occupancy of 11.1% on Friday.

Daayra has been released in two languages — Hindi and Malayalam. The Hindi version has collected the maximum, with ₹ 82 lakh of the film’s ₹ 85 lakh India net collection coming from the language version. The Malayalam version has collected a negligible amount of ₹ 3 lakh.

Kareena Kapoor Khan’s lowest opening-day collection in recent years came with Hansal Mehta’s 2024 film The Buckingham Murders, which collected ₹ 1.15 crore net on its opening day in India. Whether Daayra ends up becoming her lowest opener remains to be seen.

Kareena is also competing at the box office with her brother-in-law Kunal Kemmu, whose directorial Vibe also released on Friday. The film also stars Preity Zinta and Sparsh Shrivastava. However, like Daayra, Kunal’s film has also recorded a slow start, but it has still managed to beat Daayra. The comedy-action film has minted ₹ 1.13 crore at the box office on its opening day.

Hindustan Times’ Rishabh Suri gave the film 3 stars and wrote, “The first half is deliberate rather than gripping. The subject is important, and what works in the film’s favour is its willingness to let the investigation breathe. The procedural drama is given room to play out instead of being rushed from one revelation to another. The trade off, however, is that the film sometimes lacks the urgency one would expect from such a disturbing case. "

He added, "The second half picks up pace and moves towards its climax. While the conclusion may not come as a complete surprise, there are enough compelling moments along the way to keep you invested. The film’s strength lies less in shock value and more in the questions it raises about institutions and accountability.”

Vibha Maru is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Entertainment, based in Delhi. With a decade of experience across digital and print media, she covers Bollywood, Hollywood and web shows. A self-confessed cinephile who breathes Hindi cinema, Vibha can often be found sacrificing sleep after binge-watching films and web series. Though she holds a Commerce degree, she discovered her true calling in journalism after enrolling at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). She began her career covering Delhi's cultural scene, food, nightlife, concerts, and city life at The Times of India, before moving into full-time entertainment journalism with India Today.