Shillong, October 1: After the remarkable success and controversy surrounding ‘The Kashmir Files,’ expectations ran high for Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s next project, ‘The Vaccine War,’ which delves into the story of Covaxin.
Unfortunately, ‘The Vaccine War,’ starring Nana Patekar and Pallavi Joshi, faced a challenging start at the box office in its initial four days.
According to Sacnilk.com, the film reported a net collection of Rs 6 crore (after deducting 18% GST). This figure includes an estimated net earning of Rs 2.5 crore on Sunday, pending confirmation on Monday.
Comparing this to ‘The Kashmir Files,’ which earned Rs 27.15 crore in its opening weekend, starting with Rs 3.55 crore on the first day, the contrast is stark. ‘The Kashmir Files’ ultimately went on to make Rs 250.41 crore, cementing its position as one of the highest-grossing movies of 2022.
As per IANS, ‘The Vaccine War’ also faces tough competition from ‘Fukrey 3,’ which has collected Rs 28.3 crore, and ‘Chandramukhi 2,’ the Tamil horror comedy starring Raghava Lawrence and Kangana Ranaut, earning Rs 17.46 crore.
Some trade analysts are now debating whether Agnihotri’s propagandist filmmaking style might have been overdone. Unlike ‘The Kashmir Files,’ which revolved around a highly emotional and divisive issue that naturally drew crowds to cinemas, ‘The Vaccine War’ lacks a similarly potent ‘enemy’ to rouse audiences.
Agnihotri’s films often thrive on having an ‘exciting’ adversary, which ‘The Vaccine War’ seems to lack. Additionally, opinions about Covaxin are divided, unlike the Kashmir issue, making it less likely for the film to see a significant boost in box office figures, unless it garners political support, which hasn’t materialized yet.