Two weeks ago, ‘Baaji’ hit cinemas around Pakistan on an ordinary day of the year, with luck on its side. Cultural festivals and holidays surrounding them are oft considered great occasions to release movies since they bring in more people. Weekends like these host big film openings and play to packed houses even if the content is mediocre at best. But seldom do they get to retain their first week numbers in their second week. We can say we have a winner for this year.

‘Baaji’ shows good content can shine

Saqib Malik’s ‘Baaji’ takes the crown this year. The film was highly anticipated and despite its unsatisfying climax, most of social media still appreciated for touching upon a subject such as this. ‘Baaji’ didn’t release over an “Eid weekend” yet it made 90 lacs on its first day of release. That made it the 4th biggest release of the year, close to hitting the 1 crore mark. In fact, there was an important Pakistan cricket match over the same weekend which didn’t seem to hinder views a lot. There only seems to be one probable reason: the content was actually good.

Shameera’s struggle, which can be explained by her one-liner, “you can love me or you can hate me but, you can never replace me” was close to reality. The strong plot opened audiences up to the world of showbiz. One day you’re the showstopper, the other you’re cast aside. Not only was Meera’s acting phenomenal, but from Osman Khalid Butt, Amna Ilyas, Mohsin Abbas to even Ali Kazmi, Nisho and Nayyar Ejaz, everyone did justice to their characters.

‘Baaji’ has the biggest week 2 of the year

While most films desperately try to send audiences to cinemas, ‘Baaji’ kept pulling in more and more watchers. It is reported that by the end of week 2, ‘Baaji’ has made Rs. 3 crore and held very well since its opening. Despite Spider-Man: Far From Home and Annabelle releasing in the same week, and Wrong No. 2, Chhalawa already playing in cinemas, ‘Baaji’ exceeded all expectations.

With no movies releasing for another week, we can expect ‘Baaji’ to jump from its current Rs. 7.5 crores to Rs. 9 crores by the end of week 3.

Here are Baaji’s estimated box office numbers till now:

Week One: 4.5 crores
Week Two: 3 crores
Total: 7.5 crores

As compared to Chhalawa,

Total at Week 5: Approx. 17 crore

and compared to Wrong No. 2

Total at week 5: Approx. 19 crore plus

What do you think about these numbers?