The rare on-screen teaming up of Akshay Kumar, Annu Kapoor and Saurabh Shukla was surely going to be a unique concoction of laughter and drama. And as the reviews are still pouring in, a unanimous positive word of mouth seems to be building around Akshay Kumar’s film. Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh observed, “Akshay Kumar’s winning streak will continue with #JollyLLB2… Extremely positive reports pouring in… Should hit the bull’s eye.” Jolly LLB 2 has already recovered its cost, according to trade analyst Joginder Tuteja. The film was made on a budget of Rs 45 crores including –Rs 30 crore for Cost of Production and Rs 15 crore on P&A (promotions and advertisement). Jolly LLB 2 has already earned Rs 45 crore from the sales of satellite, music and digital rights of the film.This implies that Akshay Kumar movie started earning profits from day 1.
Akshay Kumar’s Jolly LLB 2 has taken the second biggest opening of 2017. The film collected Rs 13.2 crore on its opening day. This is next only to Raees which had taken an opening of Rs 20.42 crore. That said, the Shah Rukh Khan starrer was close to a couple of years in the making while Jolly LLB 2 has arrived in around six months of its announcement.
Jolly LLB’s first instalment which starred Arshad Warsi, Saurabh Shukla and Boman Irani collected a mere 3 crore on the first day of release!
Akshay Kumar has always maintained that he completes a movie in 40-45 days, which turns out be beneficial for producer and the entire film unit. The completion of the film within a tight schedule and budget eventually benefits the entire film. The actor completed this movie in 33 days. In comparison, several Bollywood movies starring huge stars can take around one to two years for completion. While the cost of a Khan film is around Rs 80-100 crore, Akshay’s films are made at half the budget. The actor’s 2016 films – Airlift, Rustom and Housefull 3–reflect a versatility. Unlike Khans, Akshay has been more inclined to play a ‘common man’ and doing more ‘event-based’ films. Airlift, Baby and Rustom are a few examples of films being inspired by real events. His movies of late also have some elements of patriotism and loyalty.
COP – 30 cr
P&A – 15 cr
Recovery :
45 cr from satellite, music and digital
Profits from Day 1
— Joginder Tuteja (@Tutejajoginder) February 8, 2017
Akshay Kumar's winning streak will continue with #JollyLLB2… Extremely positive reports pouring in… Should hit the bull's eye!
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) February 10, 2017
His star power, coupled with great stories, have propelled Akshay as one of the most commercial viable actors in Bollywood today. As reported by Forbes, Akshay’s 2016 releases — Airlift, Rustom and Housefull 3 — collected a whopping amount of $19.4 million, $19.1 million and $16.3 million respectively.
Just like his last release Rustom, even Jolly LLB 2 is a courtroom drama. Of late, Akshay Kumar has been dabbling with varied subjects and Jolly LLB 2 is a step in that direction. This is also his fourth film in a matter of less than 13 months [Airlift, Housefull 3 and Rustom have released since January 2016].
Now the opening of Jolly LLB 2 has pretty much suggested another consistent outing for Akshay Kumar and while a commercially successful film is definitely on the cards, it would be the jumps over rest of the weekend that would decide how big does that eventually turn out to be.
During the last couple of years, the actor has worked with a lot of new actors and directors. Far from confining him to certain people (as sometimes is the standard in the industry), Akshay’s endeavour to work with new people is visible in case of Jolly LLB 2 also. Here, Akshay is working with a bevvy of actors — most of whom are graduates from NSD and FTII — including Annu Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla and Kumud Mishra. Released in nearly 3000 screens, people have loved Jolly LLB 2. While the critics have mixed opinion about the movie, the public review has been really decent. People have really liked the story, the message and Akshay Kumar’s acting in the film. With a strong word of mouth publicity, we are sure Jolly LLB 2 will grow over the weekend and earn about Rs 40-45 crore at the end of the first weekend.
Last year, around the same time, Airlift had taken an opening day of Rs 12.35 crore, only to grow from word of mouth and eventually net Rs 129 crore. It has to be seen if Jolly LLB 2 manages to register similar pace and outcome as well!
