Kajol's latest film Maa, a fantasy-horror-mythological thriller, opened in theatres on Friday, June 27, with a solid start at the box office. The Vishal Furia directorial picked up further steam on its first Saturday, earning an impressive Rs 6 crore, as per a report by Sacnilk.
With a total runtime of 2 hours and 13 minutes, Maa has now collected Rs 10.65 crore in just two days. Directed by Vishal Furia, known for his genre-mixing work in Chhorii, Chhorii 2, Lapachhapi, and Forensic, the film appears to be setting its sights on its next box office milestone.
As per the same report, the film registered an overall 26.38% Hindi occupancy on June 28. While morning shows had a modest turnout of just 9.94%, audience footfall steadily climbed throughout the day. Afternoon shows recorded a 26.87% occupancy, evening shows reached 30.26%, and night shows peaked at an impressive 38.45%.
Banked by Ajay Devgn FFilms and Jio Studios, the movie has an emotional yet spiritual storytelling that pays a heartfelt tribute to Maa Kali, the Goddess of powerful feminine power. Written by Ajit Jagtap, Aamil Keeyan Khan, and Saiwyn Quadras, Maa's plot revolves around the story of a mother (played by Kajol) who transforms into the fierce goddess Kali to battle a demonic curse rooted in fear, blood, and betrayal.
In a post on Instagram, film critic Taran Adarsh has also evaluated Maa's box office performance on the opening day despite strong competition. He penned, "#Maa [#MaaTheFilm] fares better than expected... Pre-release expectations and trade projections had pegged its Day 1 total at a modest Rs 3.50 cr, but the actual figures have surpassed estimates," adding, "Despite a limited release across 1500 screens in #India, #Maa held its own against strong competition - the holdover title #SitaareZameenPar, as well as new releases #Kannappa and the #Hollywood biggie #F1TheMovie... Yet, #Maa managed to draw a respectable number of footfalls."
He also talked highly about marketing strategies that is likely to contribute to the film's turnout. "The 'Buy 2 - Get 1' free ticket offer [valid only on Friday] also boosted turnout... That said, the real test begins now - all eyes are on the Saturday and Sunday business," he concluded.
The mythological horror thriller also features Yaaneea Bharadwaj, Roopkatha Chakraborty, Surjyasikha Das, Jitin Gulati, Ronit Roy, Indraneil Sengupta and Gopal Singh in key roles.