Box Office
Kattalan Day 1 Box Office Collection: Antony Varghese Starrer Grosses Rs. 4.35 Crore; Records a Good Opening in Kerala
BY CHRISTA LINCY
Antony Varghese, popularly known as Pepe, has returned to the big screen with his latest action-packed thriller, Kattalan. Directed and written by Paul George, the film has generated a lot of curiosity due to its rugged forest setting and its unexpected ties to the wider Marco universe. Set in the village of Aanakolli, the story follows Maari, played by Antony, who initially appears to protect the villagers from rogue elephants but eventually becomes an even greater threat. With a powerful background score by KGF Fame Ravi Basrur, the movie had a mid-week release on Thursday and has posted a decent set of numbers on its opening day. Looking at the numbers, Kattalan has delivered a massive career-best opening for Antony Varghese. With an India gross of 4.35 crore, it has easily overtaken his previous top openers like RDX, which earned 1.38 crore on its first day, and the 2021 hit Ajagajantharam, which opened around the 1-crore mark. This jump in opening-day figures is a clear indicator of Pepe's rising bankability as a solo lead. On its first day, Kattalan collected a net of 3.80 crore at the Indian box office, which was achieved across 3,358 shows nationwide. When we look at the gross collections, the film earned 4.35 crore in India. Since the overseas numbers are yet to trickle in, the worldwide gross currently stands at 4.35 crore. For a film primarily rooted in the Malayalam market, these are healthy starting figures, especially considering it released on a working Thursday. It is also important to note that the film is currently navigating a significant screen crunch, as Drishyam 3 is simultaneously running in theaters and dominating a major portion of the available screens. The performance was heavily driven by the home state, Kerala, where the movie saw strong footfalls. In Kerala alone, the film grossed 3.50 crore, while other regions like Karnataka and the Telugu states provided additional support. Here is the state-wise gross breakdown for the opening day: (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) Kerala: ₹3.50 Cr APTG (Andhra Pradesh & Telangana): ₹0.30 Cr Karnataka: ₹0.18 Cr Tamil Nadu: ₹0.09 Cr Rest of India: ₹0.30 Cr Analysing the language-wise performance, the Malayalam version contributed the lion's share of the revenue, netting 3.25 crore with an impressive 48% occupancy. The film also saw a multilingual release, with the Hindi version bringing in 0.28 crore and the Telugu version adding 0.20 crore. The Tamil and Kannada versions had a quieter start, contributing 0.05 crore and 0.02 crore, respectively. In terms of major regions, Kochi stood out with an exceptional 77.8% occupancy, while Trivandrum also performed well at 42.3%. Kattalan Movie - Day 1 India Net CollectionLANGUAGEINDIA NET COLLECTIONMalayalam₹ 3.25 CrHindi₹ 0.28 CrTelugu₹ 0.20 CrTamil₹ 0.05 CrKannada₹ 0.02 CrTotal Day 1₹ 3.80 Cr (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}) The ticket sales data reflects a positive trend as well. On BookMyShow, Kattalan sold 61.86K tickets in the last 24 hours alone, bringing its total sales on the platform to 126.73K tickets so far. Looking at the national chains, the film sold over 1,100 tickets in advance across PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis. The majority of these sales came from PVR, which accounted for more than 800 tickets. Overall, Kattalan has had a solid start, particularly in the Kerala market. The dark themes and high-octane action sequences seem to be resonating with the core audience. While the Hindi and Telugu versions had a slow start in terms of occupancy, the upcoming weekend will be crucial for the film to gain traction in these markets. With a unique plot and a strong lead performance by Antony Varghese, the movie is expected to see a significant jump in collections over Friday and Saturday.
