Last year, Karthikeya 2 was a surprise success in Hindi as it ended up having a lifetime of Rs. 31 crores. Now south release Leo could well end up having a similar total as well in the Hindi version. The difference here is though that no one had even heard of Karthikeya 2 in the Hindi belt and hence the start was a mere Rs. 7 lakhs at the box office. On the other hand, Leo is the most an anticipated film of the season in south and there was good awareness in north as well. Hence it was surprising when the film didn't even see a release in prominent multiplexes.
Nonetheless, in the kind of space that's available to it, the Hindi version of Leo is doing decent enough business already and has actually brought even non-national multiplex chains into prominence. What's ironic is that these theatres are now actually seeing a better occupancy on screens playing Leo when compared to national chains which are playing new Bollywood releases of the week.
While the 8 days extended first week brought in Rs. 18 crores*, the numbers stayed over the Rs. 1 crore mark on second Friday as well, which is a good sign. Though these too are not great figures, the fact is that these are bonus numbers for theatres and they won't mind it all. The Vijay starrer has already collected Rs. 19 crores* and if the numbers go past the Rs. 1.75 crores mark today then it would be all set to chase that Rs. 30 crores lifetime, which would be a very respectable number.
*Estimates. Final numbers awaited
Note: All collections as per production and distribution sources
