Saqib Malik’s non-holiday release, Baaji, that marks Meera Jee’s return to the silver screen opened to decent figures at the local box office on June 28.
Now in its second week, the film is still running successfully in cinemas across Pakistan and beyond. Raking in PKR 45 million in its week, the film has earned a total of PKR 71.9 million in 13 days – according to Entertainment Pakistan.
During the opening week, the film was hit by cricket fever owing to World Cup 2019 that resulted in a loss of about 5-6 million. However, it managed to have a solid run in the second week. It generated 3 million on Monday, followed by 3.1 million and 2.8 million on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Aside from Meera, Saqib’s debut feature film features Amna Ilyas, Osman Khalid Butt, Ali Kazmi, Mohsin Abbas Haider, Nayyer Ejaz and Nisho Begum in important roles. The film packs quite a punch with Meera and Amna playing lead roles while Ali and Mohsin bring their A game to the table despite smaller roles.
Last year, Teefa In Trouble released on July 20, a non-holiday release that went on to become one of the most successful films in the history of Pakistani cinema. Baaji too is expected to hit 30 million mark by the end of second week, which will make it the first Pakistani film to reach up to PKR 30 million.
This might encourage other filmmakers and producers to opt for a release date other than the holiday season that restricts options for cine-goers throughout the year.
Speaking of films coming out on Eid ul Azha 2019, that falls next month, three big banner productions are scheduled to release simultaneously: Asim Raza’s Parey Hut Love, Azfar Jafri’s Heer Maan Ja and Mohammad Ehteshamuddin’s Superstar.
