Nani’s HIT 3 managed a decent worldwide gross of 75–80 crores, with a distributor share of around 40 crores in its four-day opening weekend, according to trade sources.
Nani deserves full credit for pouring his heart into promoting the film. A few weeks ago, HIT 3 looked like a non-starter, but his relentless promotions and clever strategies gave it a fresh lease of life at the box office.
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His dedication played a major role in pulling crowds to theatres, at least for the initial weekend.
However, the opening weekend numbers suggest a solid start, the film started showing cracks on Saturday and Sunday itself when the film didn’t grow as expected.
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The approximate AP-TG share collection for HIT 3, according to trade reports, stands at 13 crores on Day 1, followed by 6 crores on Day 2. The film collected 5 crores each on Day 3 (Sat) and Day 4 (Sun).
Despite the weekend advantage, the film failed to show any significant jump in collections, indicating not-so-good word-of-mouth.
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The collections were steady but not encouraging for a film aiming to be a mass action-thriller. Mixed talk and average reviews played a role in limiting its potential.
HIT 3 didn’t fully click as a gritty action film nor as a gripping thriller. The lack of emotional impact and genre clarity seems to have dented its box office collections.
Adding to the concerns, the Andhra Pradesh government had approved a temporary ticket price hike — 252/- in multiplexes and 200/- in single screens for seven days.
Fans, however, were unhappy with the high pricing even on weekdays, especially as the film didn’t have strong word-of-mouth.
Many felt that Monday’s occupancy, on the fifth day, could have improved if the ticket prices were brought down. Despite the feedback, the producers chose to continue with the hiked rates.
By Day 5, the film is expected to collect only around 1.5 to 1.6 crore share in the Telugu states — an 80% drop from its opening day.
While HIT 3 is a commercial success, the heavy weekday drops suggest it may fall short of being labeled a big hit.
