'Chandu Champion' Box Office: Kartik Aaryan-starrer takes a slow start, earns Rs 5.4 cr on day 1

Kartik Aaryan in a still from Chandu Champion

Filmmaker Kabir Khan's directorial 'Chandu Champion' starring Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan in the lead hit the screens on Friday. The movie is based on India's first Paralympic gold medalist, Murlikant Petkar. The film had a slow start at the box office despite getting largely positive reviews. The film collected Rs 5.4 crore on day 1.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to X (formerly Twitter) to share box office update of the film. "#ChanduChampion was expected to start slow and its Day 1 numbers have opened on expected lines… While morning shows were way below the mark, the evening shows did witness some improvement, especially at urban centres.

The affordable ticket pricing on Day 1 [₹ 150/-] did not make much of a difference, going by the overall total.

National chains / urban centres were significant contributors in 'Day 1' total, but mass pockets / single screens are a downer… The silver lining is the strong word of mouth, which should convert into footfalls on Sat - Sun - Mon [holiday].

#ChanduChampion has to cover lost ground on Sat - Sun - Mon, a massive jump in biz is extremely crucial at this juncture for the turnaround… It's a wait-and-watch situation right now.

[Week 1] Fri ₹ 5.40 cr. #India biz. #Boxoffice"

Kabir on casting Kartik Aaryan:

Talking to IANS, Kabir, who is known for his directorial work on '83' and 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', spoke about choosing Kartik as 'Chandu Champion'. "When I was writing the script of 'Chandu'... obviously, when you are writing the script, you have an image in your mind. And that image, that character, has an age, personality, attitude... So, when you have these pointers, the next step is to identify which actor can embody all these characteristics. Very strongly, I felt those characteristics in Kartik Aaryan."

"We have never worked before, not even met properly. Then we had a meeting for around 2.5 hours, during which we had a lot of conversations about the film. As a director, during our talks, it's my job to gauge whether he is the right fit for this character. A director's gut instinct is very strong. After that 2.5-hour meeting with him, I was very clear that Kartik would be the 'Chandu Champion'," shared Kabir.

The director of 'Ek Tha Tiger' further shared that he had two queries, which Kartik answered instantly.

"I only had two questions, which Kartik answered without batting an eye on it -- firstly, about getting a haircut, and secondly, about a very tough body transformation because he (Petkar) is a top athlete of international level. Kartik had no hesitations with both questions. I knew he would go the extra mile to do it," concluded Kabir Khan.