After doing healthy business over the weekend, Alia Bhatt's latest movie "Alpha" saw a huge drop in collections on the first Monday. Sacnilk box office data showed a 70.9% drop, that is, earning Rs 3.85 crore compared to the Rs 13.25 crore earned on Sunday. Domestically, it has grossed Rs 45.34 crore and netted Rs 37.85 crore so far. Adding the Rs 18.30 crore overseas total, its worldwide gross has surged to Rs 63.64 crore.
A 70.9% drop on the first Monday indicates that audience interest has waned, possibly due to not just the largely negative-to-mixed reviews but also the weak word-of-mouth. In the past, movies like Prabhas-starrer "Adipurush" showed a similar box-office trajectory. After a massive Rs 140 crore opening weekend fueled by pre-release bookings, intense negative reviews led to a 75% drop on its first Monday, sinking from its Rs 60+ crore single-day high down to Rs 16 crore post-weekend. There is also an example within the YRF Spy Universe, "Tiger 3", which was released on a Sunday; it made Rs 59 crore on Monday (a holiday) and collapsed by over 45% on Tuesday when the festive period slowed, struggling to maintain its initial strength.
The same fate befell "Bade Miyan Chote Miyan", which, after a modest extended weekend, crashed by over 70% on its first post-holiday Monday. "Thugs of Hindostan", another big Yash Raj Films production, also suffered the same fate. After breaking records with a Rs 52 crore opening day, terrible audience word-of-mouth caused the collections to drop by nearly 45% on Day 2 and a staggering 70%+ by its first Monday.
Movies with healthy long-term runs (like Alia Bhatt's own "Gangubai Kathiawadi") experience no more than 40–50% on their first Monday. "Alpha" will require some heavy lifting from now on to make a significant ROI.
