New Delhi: Ek Villain Returns, starring John Abraham, Tara Sutaria, Disha Patani and Arjun Kapoor, has opened to a lukewarm response at the box office. On the first day of its release, Ek Villain Returns raked in Rs 7.05 crores, as per film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh. The film’s first day collection is even lower than Ranbir Kapoor starrer Shamshera, which has been deemed as a box office dud by experts.

Taran Adarsh mentioned that Ek Villain Returns opened better at single screen theatres and tier 2 centres, but the collections were not impressive in bigger cities. He wrote, “#EkVillainReturns reaps the benefit of franchise factor, opens better at single screens of mass pockets and Tier-2 centres… Metros – especially national chains – need to gather momentum… Day 2 and 3 crucial… Fri ₹ 7.05 cr. #India biz.”

#EkVillainReturns reaps the benefit of franchise factor, opens better at single screens of mass pockets and Tier-2 centres… Metros – especially national chains – need to gather momentum… Day 2 and 3 crucial… Fri ₹ 7.05 cr. #India biz. pic.twitter.com/YeVUW1jyCV

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) July 30, 2022

Ek Villain Returns is a sequel to the 2014 sleeper hit Ek Villain which starred Sidharth Malhotra, Shraddha Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh in leading role. Despite the franchise value, the film opened lower than the first part by a margin of over 60 percent. Regardless, the opening has been better than star led films of Ranveer Singh, Tiger Shroff and Ajay Devgn, which failed to leave any mark at the box office.

Ek Villain Returns is facing stiff competition from Kichcha Sudeep’s Vikrant Rona which has been released as a pan-Indian film. The collections of Sudeep’s film in the Hindi belt dropped when it clashed against the Mohit Suri film.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if the film’s collection will grow during the weekend.