Suriya's much-anticipated action film Kanguva has entered its second weekend at the box office, but the film's performance so far has been disappointing, falling short of expectations. Despite the high anticipation around the release, Kanguva has faced significant challenges at the box office, with its earnings not meeting the anticipated numbers. As per the trade website Sacnilk, the film earned Rs 64.40 crore nett in India during its first week, which includes approximately Rs 2 crore nett on its second Thursday. However, this still represents a drop from the early projections.
The film had a strong opening day, collecting Rs 24 crore on its release Thursday, but it quickly lost momentum. On Friday, the earnings dropped to Rs 9.5 crore, and despite hopes of a rebound over the weekend, Kanguva failed to make up ground. Saturday’s collections were also weak, and the film’s performance during the weekdays was unremarkable, with daily collections ranging between Rs 2 to 3.5 crore nett. This lackluster box office performance has been a result of several factors, with the film not living up to the high expectations set by both the marketing campaign and audience anticipation.
One major contributing factor to the film’s underperformance has been the fierce competition in the Tamil film market. Kanguva has been facing significant competition from Amaran, a film starring Sivakarthikeyan, which continues to perform well in theaters. Despite initial reports suggesting that Kanguva would pose a strong challenge to Amaran, the situation has played out differently, with Amaran holding its ground and continuing to attract audiences, thus reducing the number of viewers heading to Kanguva screenings. This competition has resulted in fewer people choosing to see Kanguva, especially in its second weekend.
Additionally, the film has received mixed reviews from both critics and audiences. While the action sequences and grand visuals were appreciated by some, the overall reception has been tepid. The film's narrative and pacing did not resonate with a large portion of the audience, which led to a drop in word-of-mouth promotions. Another significant issue that affected the film's box office performance was the technical glitch, particularly the audio problems that some viewers reported. Poor sound quality can negatively impact the overall experience in a film, especially an action-packed drama like Kanguva, where audio plays a crucial role in building tension and excitement. These technical issues likely deterred many potential viewers, resulting in weaker box office numbers.
The film’s weak performance is even more striking when we consider the fact that it was expected to do far better in its opening weekend. Given the popularity of Suriya and the film's massive promotional campaign, there was a lot of hype surrounding Kanguva, and the initial numbers led many to believe that it would perform consistently well throughout its theatrical run. However, the film has struggled to maintain its initial momentum, with the drop in numbers after the opening day being a clear indication of audience dissatisfaction.
Looking ahead, Kanguva is likely to face even stiffer competition in the coming weeks, particularly with the highly anticipated release of Pushpa 2: The Rule scheduled for December 5. With Pushpa 2 expected to be a massive box office draw, Kanguva will likely see a further decline in its earnings. The film's lackluster run at the box office thus far, coupled with the impending release of Pushpa 2, means that it may struggle to achieve its financial targets.
While Kanguva has certainly generated some excitement and earned attention for its large-scale action sequences, the film’s disappointing performance highlights the unpredictability of box-office success. The combination of fierce competition, mixed reviews, and technical issues has hampered Kanguva’s chances of becoming a blockbuster, and it remains to be seen whether the film can recover its momentum in the coming weeks or if it will be overshadowed by other major releases. Ultimately, it seems that Kanguva will have to rely on its international appeal or later digital streaming to find broader success.
