Kalki 2898 AD To Reach Rs 1000 Crore Mark at Box Office Window: Fact or Fiction? Trade Experts Weigh In

The movie, helmed by Nag Ashwin, is minting crores each day. It has been six days since the release of Kalki 2898 AD, and the film has already crossed Rs 600 crore. However, what comes as a surprise is that several trade analysts are suggesting that the makers of the film are aiming for an ultimate target of Rs 1000 crores and that the team of the film has been ‘inflating’ the numbers. In an interview with India Today, trade analyst Sumit Kadel revealed that Kalki 2898 AD has not reached the box office collection they claim to have achieved.

During the discussion on the matter, Sumit told the portal that while the movie is doing well at the box office, it is not achieving the exceptional success that different portrayals are projecting. He said, “‘Kalki’ will manage to end its lifetime run at around Rs 800-850 crore worldwide, but the film’s team will make everyone believe that it’s crossed Rs 1000 crore at the worldwide box office.”

Sumit asserted that it is not the first time that the makers are showing different numbers than what they have actually earned so far. “Everyone likes to show that their film has done well, but Kalki’s case is different.” He also added, “What they are doing here is shocking. Many makers show inflated numbers, but the discrepancy there is about Rs 5–7 crore. However, in Kalki’s case, the team is adding an extra Rs 90–100 crore to the actual earnings, which is unheard of.”

Kalki 2898 AD Doing Well, But What’s the Reason?

Ramesh Bala, another trade analyst, pointed out that the discrepancy in the business of Kalki exists due to the absence of a statutory body in India tasked with maintaining records of a film’s overall business. He explained, “People mostly depend on the producers’ figures and what the film’s team declares. A debate is always there. The independent sources in India don’t have a computerized system to find out how much you earn from each ticket. Different states operate differently. Trade people rely on the numbers shared by producers. Sometimes, each state has its own trackers who send the numbers to us, we calculate at our end and then present the final numbers.”

For Kalki 2898 AD, Bala stated that the film is performing strongly across all regions, but noted that some producers tend to inflate numbers when their films are not performing as expected. “Kalki is generally doing well. There is no need to exaggerate. It’s already close to Rs 600 crore (worldwide). I am expecting it to cross Rs 700 crore by the second weekend. My bet is that it can do Rs 1000 crore in its lifetime run,” he said.

Adding more to that, Kalki 2898 AD is doing well at the box office in the Hindi belt and is expected to earn around Rs 250 crore alone.