Batwara 1947 box office collection day 3: Film sees sharp 46% Sunday drop, fails to cross ₹30 crore in opening weekend

Batwara 1947 box office collection day 3: Batwara 1947 starring Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta concluded its weekend run on a rather disappointing note. The historical drama was initially showing good signs of turning things around after it witnessed a boost in its Saturday collection owing to the Independence Day celebrations. But, the film failed to sustain that success and experienced a sudden fall in its collection on Sunday.

According to trade tracker Sacnilk, Batwara 1947 earned ₹ 7.25 crore net on Sunday, Day 3. The film witnessed a 46.3% drop from Saturday, when it had collected ₹ 13.50 crore net. The Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta starrer had opened to ₹ 5.75 crore net on Friday. It then saw a massive jump on Saturday, helped by the Independence Day holiday, with collections rising by around 135% to ₹ 13.50 crore. This took the film’s two-day total to ₹ 19.25 crore and raised hopes of a strong opening weekend.

However, the film could not carry the Saturday momentum into Sunday. The film’s first weekend total stands at ₹ 26.50 crore net in India.

The contrast becomes more noticeable when Batwara 1947 is compared with Emraan Hashmi's Awarapan 2 , which has emerged as the stronger performer among the week's major releases. The film collected ₹ 26 crore net on its third day alone, taking its India net total to ₹ 81.75 crore. Batwara 1947, meanwhile, has managed ₹ 26.50 crore net in its entire opening weekend.

The comparison with Sunny Deol’s previous release Border 2 makes the difference even more striking. Border 2 had collected ₹ 54.50 crore net on its third day. The film had recorded these numbers across 15,886 shows and had already reached ₹ 121.00 crore net in India in its opening weekend.

Both films have Sunny Deol at the centre and carry a patriotic backdrop, but their theatrical journeys have been very different. While Border 2 continued to build momentum through the opening weekend, Batwara 1947 has struggled to hold on to the gains made on Independence Day.

The film’s Day 3 performance also looks modest when compared to Gadar 2 which had marked Sunny's massive comeback in the industry. The blockbuster collected ₹ 51.70 crore net on Day 3. After three days, the film had earned ₹ 134.88 crore net in India. In Batwara 1947’s case, the Saturday jump was followed by a sharp Sunday correction, suggesting that the film will need strong weekday hold and positive word of mouth to keep its theatrical run going.

In Batwara 1947, Sunny Deol plays a Muslim man who migrates to Pakistan during the Partition. However, he discovers a Hindu woman, played by Shabana Azmi, living upstairs in his home, who refuses to leave. He takes it upon himself to protect her while also ensuring his family's safety amid the chaos. Batwara 1947 sees Preity Zinta return to the big screen after almost a decade. The film also marks the first on-screen collaboration between Sunny and his son, Karan Deol, who plays his son on screen.