Kesari box office collection day 1: Akshay Kumar starrer hit by Holi, expected to earn this much

Kesari box office collection day 1: Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra starrer Kesari has opened to poor occupancy rates on Thursday. But, this has more do with Holi than film's content. The big budget period drama based on the Battle of Saragarhi is releasing amidst high buzz and is expected to do well over the weekend. The initial reviews of the film have been positive and would further add to film's success. Film trade analyst and critic Sumit Kadel tweeted that Kesari has opened to just 15 to 20 per cent occupanc as most people are celebrating Holi. He added that advance booking is looking strong.

"#Kesari opens with approx 15-20% in morning shows where its played, Holi obviously affected the opening. Mumbai opened better than rest of India where holi affect is less compared to other territory. Evening advance booking is looking strong," Kadel tweeted on Thursday morning. 

Earlier, he had told Zee Business Online that the film would earn around Rs 15 crore on day 1. "The advance booking has not been encouraging for the film. The film may earn around Rs 15 crore is spot booking and evening shows go well. Otherwise, the collections may dip below Rs 15 crore," Kadel had said.

#Kesari opens with approx 15-20% in morning shows where its played, Holi obviously affected the opening. Mumbai opened better than rest of India where holi affect is less compared to other territory. Evening advance booking is looking strong.

— Sumit kadel (@SumitkadeI) March 21, 2019

Kesari has released over 3600 screens in India and 600 screens in overseas market taking the overall count to 4200. 

It marks Akshay Kumar's return to action genre after exploring different concepts over the last 12 months in Pad Man (social drama), Gold (sports drama) and 2.0 (sci fi thriller). Akshay Kumar’s last two releases - 2.0 (Hindi) and Gold - had crossed the Rs 20 crore mark in the opening day. 

Movie critic and business analyst Taran Adarsh has given positive review to the film. He said that this is Akshar Kumar's best performance till date. 

#OneWordReview…#Kesari: OUTSTANDING!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Chronicles a significant chapter from history brilliantly... Nationalism, patriotism, heroism, scale and soul - #Kesari has it all... Akshay’s career-best act... Anurag Singh’s direction terrific... Don’t miss! #KesariReview pic.twitter.com/hrNtAgObno

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) March 19, 2019

"#OneWordReview…#Kesari: OUTSTANDING! Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Chronicles a significant chapter from history brilliantly... Nationalism, patriotism, heroism, scale and soul - #Kesari has it all... Akshay’s career-best act... Anurag Singh’s direction terrific... Don’t miss! #KesariReview," Adarsh tweeted.