Emergency box office Day 1: Slow start for Kangana Ranaut’s political drama

Kangana Ranaut’s latest release, Emergency, which delves into the period of 1975-1977, when former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency in the country, has not received a favourable opening at the box office. As per the industry tracker Sacnilk, the political drama earned only Rs 2.35 crore (nett) in India on the day of its release.

The film had a total Hindi occupancy of 19.26 per cent, with maximum footfall during the night shows. Emergency, which released alongside Azaad, a film starring Ajay Devgn’s nephew Amaan Devgan and Raveena Tandon’s daughter, Rasha Thadani, had around 2,500 shows across India.

The opening numbers of Emergency are better than Kangana’s previous releases. Her 2023 film Tejas earned Rs 1.20 crore, and Dhaakad (2022) collected Rs 55 lakh on its opening day. However, the film remains one of her lowest openers. Kangana achieved the biggest opening of her career in 2015 with her film Tanu Weds Manu Returns, which earned Rs 8.85 crore upon its release.

Emergency marks Kangana’s solo directorial debut. However, she later said that directing the film was a “wrong decision”. The film also stars Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, and Mahima Chaudhary in pivotal roles. The film’s response has been mixed.

India Today’s Sana Farzeen gave the film a 2.5-star rating. A section of her review read: “The pacing tests your patience as there are times when you want to know more. Unless you are a GK enthusiast, you would also spend more time Googling the happenings on screen. The songs are an unnecessary distraction, and a couple of them are even picturised as dramatic musicals, which makes it unintentionally funny. The violence, on the other hand, is gory and seems like Kangana enjoys close-ups as faces keep zooming in on the screen.”

However, the film received a positive response from Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who called Emergency an “important documentation of a time in Indian history.” He also praised Kangana for her portrayal of Indira Gandhi.