Haiwaan is in theatres now, and its opening day advance numbers suggest a slow start rather than a washout. The Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan crime thriller closed final day one pre-sales at 44.17K tickets, no blocked seats, pulling in Rs 1.03 crore gross and Rs 87 lakh net at the Indian box office, per Koimoi.

That's not a big number by Akshay's standards. But it clears the bar set by some of his shakiest post-Covid releases. Haiwaan's advance gross has gone past Mission Raniganj's Rs 76.7 lakh, Sarfira's Rs 69.99 lakh and Selfiee's Rs 40.58 lakh, all measured at the same pre-release stage.

The bigger story here might be the screen count. Haiwaan opened on roughly 7,400 shows across the country, a number that's respectable on paper but thin given who's on the poster. The film is sharing Friday with Mirzapur The Movie and Hanuman Ansh, both of which exhibitors are clearly backing harder right now, and neither was going to hand over prime slots without a fight.

Average ticket price sits at Rs 224, on the accessible end, which should help footfall once walk-in audiences start showing up through the day. Advance booking rarely tells the full story for a film like this anyway. Crime thrillers tend to build on word of mouth rather than pre-release hype, and Haiwaan will need exactly that kind of push once reviews start circulating.

What makes this one interesting beyond the numbers is the pairing. Akshay and Priyadarshan last worked together on Bhooth Bangla, and that reunion is doing some of the heavy lifting in audience curiosity here. Whether a straight crime thriller carries the same pull as a horror comedy is the open question the trade will be watching through the weekend.

The film also has a fairly stacked supporting cast. Boman Irani, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Saiyami Kher play key roles, and Mohanlal turns up in a cameo, which is its own small talking point given how rarely he crosses over into Hindi releases. Haiwaan is produced by Venkat K Narayana and Shailaja Desai Fenn under KVN Productions and Thespian Films.

So where does this leave day one? Advance sales crossing a crore is being read in trade circles as a fair outcome, not a triumphant one, especially with Mirzapur and Hanuman Ansh eating into available shows. The real test starts now, with over-the-counter sales through Thursday and the first wave of audience reaction likely to decide whether Haiwaan's screen count grows or shrinks going into the weekend.