Haiwaan, the psychological thriller starring Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan which released on Friday, opened to very low figures at the ticket counters. Directed by Priyadarshan, Haiwaan is an official remake of the 2016 film Oppam, which too was directed by the filmmaker. 

According to Sacnilk, Haiwaan collected Rs 3 crore nett at domestic box office, and grossed Rs 1.0 crore overseas. There was a mild improvement in the night-time collections compared to rest of the day, but the film needed a much bigger spike considering the low morning occupancies.

Among all the major centres, the film performed marginally better in Delhi-NCR compared to others.

The figures also come as a surprise because Akshay Kumar has been part of two major hits this year — Bhooth Bangla and Welcome To The Jungle, both of which are franchise films. Meanwhile, Saif’s last Hindi theatrical release was Adipurush, which released over 3 years ago and was a box office failure.

Considering the largely negative reviews, Haiwaan is highly unlikely to recover from the dull start. Reportedly mounted on a budget of Rs 115 crores, the film will struggle to recover its budget in all probability.

Haiwaan also features prominent names like Boman Irani, Rajpal Yadav, Sharib Hashmi, Shriya Pilgaonkar, and Saiyami Kher in the ensemble cast.

In our review for the film, we noted, “Haiwaan picks up a bit in the second half when we have laboured through the scattered screenplay and forced-fitted comic sketches featuring Rajpal Yadav, the late Asrani and Sharib Hashmi. The film becomes more focussed on the battle of brains and brawn between Saif and Akshay but by then your mind has become a muddled mess. You stop caring.”