Priyadarshan's Haiwaan opened on Friday with Rs 3 crore net in India, and instead of the usual Saturday bump, early trade estimates suggest the film might actually go backwards. Projections point to somewhere around Rs 2 to 2.5 crore for Day 2, which would put the two-day domestic net near Rs 5 to 5.5 crore. That's a rough spot for a film reportedly budgeted at Rs 100 to 115 crore, a figure the makers themselves haven't confirmed but which trade sources keep repeating.

The overseas numbers haven't helped either. Haiwaan added roughly Rs 1 crore gross from international markets on Day 1, taking the worldwide gross to about Rs 4.60 crore after one day. For a film carrying two big names and a nine-figure price tag, that's thin.

There's still a window. If late-evening and night shows over the weekend pull in bigger crowds than the early estimates suggest, the two-day total could climb past Rs 5.5 crore. But going by current trends, Haiwaan is looking at a slow build rather than the kind of jump that rescues a weak opening.

What makes the muted response sting a bit more is what's riding on it. Haiwaan is Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan's first film together in 18 years, their last pairing going back to films like Main Khiladi Tu Anari and Tashan. It's also Priyadarshan remaking his own 2016 Malayalam hit Oppam in Hindi, with a crime-thriller plot that critics say hasn't been reworked much for the new cast.

Reviews have landed mixed. The Free Press Journal gave it three stars, calling it neither bad nor great, and noting that anyone who's already seen Oppam won't find much new here beyond a change of faces. The review flagged Haiwaan as a better watch for Saif's fans than Akshay's, since Akshay's part in the film is reportedly small despite the marketing weight behind the reunion angle.

So the story now shifts to word of mouth. A Rs 100 crore-plus budget doesn't forgive a Rs 3 crore opening day easily, and a Saturday that dips instead of climbs only tightens the math. The next real test is Sunday, when weekend audiences either show up in bigger numbers or don't. If they don't, Haiwaan joins a growing list of big-ticket September releases struggling to justify their price tag against a crowded release calendar.