The late Puneeth Rajkumar's swansong James hit the screens on March 17 amid much fanfare and grossed a record Rs 27.5 crore at the Karnataka box office. It received rave reviews from movie buffs with many describing it as a grand celebration of brand 'Appu'. So did this help the biggie put up good numbers on the second day? Here is the detailed report.
Day 2 collection
The flick remained unstoppable on Friday (March 18) with several shows witnessing 'Houseful' occupancy. The day 2 gross is likely to be around Rs 10 crore, a solid figure for a working day, as per initial estimates. If this is indeed the case, the two-day collection will be around Rs 37 crore.
Also Read | 'James' movie review: Celebration of a mass hero
Not a film but an emotion
James would have opened to a good response at the box office even under normal circumstances as it features a 'massy' storyline with plenty of action scenes. Moreover, the production values are quite commendable. The fact that it hit the screens months after Puneeth died at the age of 46 transformed it into an emotion. It had nearly 920 shows in Bengaluru alone, a record for a Kannada movie. It received strong support from the 'Gen Y' audience as the popular star was regarded as Kannada cinema's 'Yuivarathnaa'. James also benefited from the lukewarm response to Radhe Shyam in Karnataka.
It garnered attention outside Karnataka as well with Telugu star Chiranjeevi, who shares a strong bond with the Rajkumar family, urging fans to watch the movie in theatres.
Shivarajkumar steps into Appu's shoes
Puneeth's untimely death left the team behind James in a fix as he hadn't dubbed for the film. Shivarajkumar ultimately decided to dub for his brother. Shivanna's work in the teaser received a mixed response initially as a section of the audience felt that his voice did not suit the 'Powerstar'. Most reviews, however, indicate that Shivarajkumar has done justice to the Appu's dialogues, helping the film reach its potential. The Om star revealed prior to the film's release that dubbing for James was a deeply emotional experience for him.
The road ahead.,...
James is set to witness phenomenal growth on Saturday and Sunday as it will remain the Sandalwood audience's top choice over the weekend. It faces limited competition from this week's Hindi release Bachchhan Paandey in Karnataka as the Akshay Kumar-starrer caters to a different audience and is set in Uttar Pradesh.