The devotional drama jumped 35 per cent on its eighth Tuesday, with trade watchers now debating whether it closes closer to Rs 325 crore or pushes past Rs 350 crore before Drishyam: The Conclusion eats into its shows.
Eight weeks in, and Hanuman Ansh still won't slow down. The devotional drama pulled in Rs 2.75 crore on its eighth Tuesday, a 35 per cent jump over Monday, according to Pinkvilla's box office tracking. That takes the film's cume to Rs 297 crore, just a few crore shy of the Rs 300 nett mark.
Five days into week eight, the film has already added Rs 22.75 crore, and Pinkvilla's trade estimates suggest another Rs 4-5 crore is coming before the week closes out. Do the math and Rs 300 crore isn't a question of if. It's a question of which day this week the number actually lands.
What's remarkable here isn't the total, it's the shape of the run. Films don't usually spike 35 per cent on a Tuesday in their eighth week. Most are limping by then, down to a handful of shows in single-screen towns, propped up by a stray weekend. Hanuman Ansh is doing the opposite, and trade voices are calling it one of the better ROI stories in recent memory for a film built around Neem Karoli Baba.
So where does it end up? Pinkvilla's read is that current momentum could, in theory, carry the film to Rs 350 crore nett across its full run. But there's a complication showing up on the horizon: Drishyam: The Conclusion. Ajay Devgn's thriller is reportedly moving serious advance tickets in the big national chains ahead of its own release, and that's going to eat into screens and footfall for anything else running in theatres. Factor that in, and Pinkvilla's own safer bet lands closer to Rs 325 crore nett for Hanuman Ansh's lifetime.
The gap between those two numbers, Rs 325 crore and Rs 350 crore, isn't small. It's roughly what a mid-sized theatrical release earns in its entire run. Whether Hanuman Ansh lands nearer one or the other depends almost entirely on how much room Drishyam leaves it once that film opens.
Either way, the film has already outperformed most expectations set for it at release, and the story now isn't whether it's a hit. That question got answered weeks ago. The story is how much bigger this gets before it has to share the marquee.
For now, the number to watch is Rs 300 crore, expected to fall sometime this week. After that, the real test starts.
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