John Abraham VedaaEarns ₹6.52 Crore on Opening Day, Outperforms Khel Khel Mein
On August 15, the action drama Vedaa, starring John Abraham, Sharvari Wagh, and Tamannaah Bhatia, was released in theatres. The film hit the screens on Independence Day, facing stiff competition from two other major releases: the horror comedy Stree 2 and Akshay Kumar’s comedy-drama Khel Khel Mein. Despite the fierce competition, Vedaa managed to secure a solid performance, though it still faced challenges in cracking the single-digit opening curse.
Vedaa’s Opening Performance
According to industry tracker Sacnilk, Vedaa earned ₹6.52 crore on its opening day in the domestic market. The film performed well in its Hindi version, grossing ₹6.5 crore, while its Tamil and Telugu versions added ₹50 lakh each. Although Vedaa fell significantly behind Stree 2, which raked in ₹54 crore on its first day, it managed to out-perform Khel Khel Mein, which earned approximately ₹5 crore.
On its debut day, Vedaa saw an overall Hindi occupancy rate of 35.63 percent. In Mumbai, the film had a 37 percent occupancy across 415 shows, while in Delhi and NCR, it reached an occupancy of 41.5 percent across 475 shows. These figures indicate a decent performance despite the high competition.
John Abraham’s Best Opening in Six Years
Vedaa marks John Abraham’s biggest opening in six years, surpassing his previous 2018 Independence Day release, Satyamev Jayate, which earned ₹19 crore on its first day. Despite this achievement, John Abraham’s biggest opening remains his role in Siddharth Anand’s spy thriller Pathaan (2023), which featured Shah Rukh Khan and set a high benchmark.
John Abraham’s recent films have struggled to achieve significant openings, with titles like Ek Villain Returns (₹7 crore), Attack (₹3 crore), Satyamev Jayate 2 (₹3 crore), and Mumbai Saga (₹2.8 crore) all falling short of expectations.
Mixed Reviews for Vedaa
Directed by Nikkhil Advani, known for Kal Ho Naa Ho, Vedaa received mixed reviews from critics. The film’s last collaboration between Advani and Abraham, Batla House, had a strong opening, earning ₹14 crore on its first day. In her review, Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express praised John Abraham’s performance, describing him as “slicing, dicing and keeping the villains at bay with impassive ferocity,” though she rated the film two stars.
Overall, while Vedaa performed well compared to some of John Abraham’s recent releases, it still faces challenges in overcoming the single-digit opening trend that has marked his recent film career.
