The Irrfan Khan starrer Blackmail, directed by Abhinay Deo, released across 1861 screens (domestic 1550 + overseas 311), according to Bollywood Hungama.com. As per the report, the movie grabbed 1,999 USD [Rs. 1.30 lacs] from 15 screens in Australia box office and 621 USD [Rs. 40,504] from 5 screens in New Zealand box office.
 
Irrfan Khan and Kirti Kulhari received a lot of appreciation from the critics and analysts. The movie is a dark comedy and Irrfan has essayed the role in a masterful way. He has always had this dark and sultry look, but almost all of his movies had him in serious roles. But now, he has been pushed into doing this new genre and he has carried it off with customary elan. The result is there at the box office as the movie has collected as much as Rs 2.81 cr on its opening day. Now that the weekend is upon us, the earnings will improve drastically.
 
Irrfan has not played roles of heroes in action thriller and romantic films, the kind that Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn, Hrithik Roshan and Salman Khan are known for. The latest to enter this category is of course Tiger Shroff with his Baaghi 2 movie that has entered the Rs 100 cr club in week 1 itself. Realistically, what Blackmail collection prediction can be based on is the performance of a film like Rani Mukherji starrer Hichki. This movie has done exceptionally well by drawing in as much as Rs 38.90 cr till date. Will Blackmail collection reach anywhere near that figure?
 
Blackmail has been released on more screens than Hichki - 1861 screens worldwide (1550 screens in India and some 311 overseas) vs 1341 screens worldwide (domestic 961 + overseas 380). Compare this to Baaghi 2, which was released on 3500 screens of which 625 were overseas.
 
Blackmail collection can be powered over the next few days by the word of mouth boost as the performances by all have been stellar. How big that boost is going to be, will be revealed soon enough. However, one of the biggest things standing in front of Blackmail collection is in fact Baaghi 2. Clearly, given an option, most viewers are opting for the Tiger Shroff starrer.