Akshay Kumar’s Raksha Bandhan has gotten off to a bleak start at the box office in India. Early estimates say the film is in the range of €7.50 to 8.50 croreswhich is far below even the conservative expectation of the Hindi film industry.

The start was poor across the board, including the mass centers, although occupancy saw a peak after the afternoon shows. In some mass centers like Gujarat, it outperformed Laal Singh Chaddha, but in all other places in India, the film lagged behind Aamir Khan’s lead actor. Given the bad start, it’s now up to the film to hold steady over the next few weeks to put in a reasonable total.

It’s been a week full of vacations, and this factor gives Raksha Bandhan a chance to make up for lost ground. Even at its worst, the Akshay Kumar movie should have clocked in a double-digit opening, but it didn’t. The opening day collections were aided by the Raksha Bandhan Holiday, which has benefited Aanand L Rai’s direction more than the Aamir Khan film.

The actual value of both Raksha Bandhan and Laal Singh Chaddha on a non-holiday day is about 25 percent lower than what they collected on Thursday. The public has given their message loud and clear – make good, interesting films – if not, they will skip the theaters.

More Pages: Raksha Bandhan Box Office Collection, Raksha Bandhan Movie Review